Kimberly Potter and the Goblet of Fire
by CopperCow
Summary: Sirius and Severus hate each other, Uncle Vernon scared the crap out of Kim, and she's still getting used to the idea of having a brother. At school, someone's playing mind games with her, but this year, she isn't going to have to be saved. She's fighting back. Twin sister fic but with a twist, Harry isn't the BWL, Kim is the GWL, fem Chosen One, AU, free!Sirius mentor!Severus
1. Fighting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **A/N: This is the fourth in a series. However, if you don't want to read the other three, I totally understand and will put some important details at the bottom. The other three also have canon titles with Kimberly in the beginning instead of Harry. If you want to read the others, don't read the bold at the bottom. :)**

 **Oh and Kim looks like Lily with James's eyes. I always thought he had brown eyes, but apparently he has hazel. And so, I always picture Kim with dark brown eyes, but because of this, I usually describe her as having dark eyes instead of saying brown or hazel.**

 **A/N2: This first scene was kind of… well, I felt bad about writing it. However, I found it necessary for Severus to start communicating a tiny bit with Sirius in the next chapter and for Kim to finally want to start learning how to fight for herself, which she will obviously need for the 3** **rd** **task and what I have happen right before it.**

Chapter 1 Fighting

Kim didn't let herself panic until they were driving around for an hour. Uncle Vernon did say he had to run an errand. Hopefully he was just lost. It wasn't like he went to London that often.

But soon it was getting dark and Kim found herself curling into a ball in the back seat. Was he going to just dump her here or something? That wouldn't be so bad… Padfoot and Remus would find her soon enough.

Once he parked the car, Kim peered out the window to see they were in a part of town Uncle Vernon would most certainly turn his nose up to. Before she could get a better look, he yanked open the door and pulled her out.

"Not a word," he warned. "I'm going to show you what's going to happen if you _ever_ act like you did last summer. Hell, if you even so much as get a _speck_ of mud on the carpet, I'm dropping you off here."

Suddenly, Kim didn't want to know what was going on out there and was tempted to jump back in the car and refuse to come out. She closed her eyes and tensed to try to stop them from walking. They were on a loud street. Sirens and people arguing could be heard in the distance. Finally, she opened her eyes.

Some of them were women and some of them weren't much older than her. They strutted about in heels to cars and soon disappeared in them to go who knows where. Kim felt like she could barely breathe and was afraid to move.

She tried not to look at them, but the rest of her surroundings weren't much better. People were buying drugs, chasing each other, or full on fist fighting. It was like the world had come to an end. If she focused on the distant sirens, she could almost ignore the people screaming and crying.  
"You wouldn't last a year out here." Uncle Vernon glared at her in a way that made her shake. "So you better think twice before threatening us with a knife again. They would never find you. Either you'd wind up like those women or dead in an alley within five minutes because you clearly aren't from here..."

 _He's just making a threat. He wouldn't really do it,_ Kim tried to tell herself as bile rose in her throat. _Soon enough, you'll never see them again._

"Get in the car," he barked, smirking when she squeaked and listened. He should have done this years ago, if this was what it took to get her to shut up and do what she's told.

* * *

"Hey kiddo!" Sirius and Harry found Kim at the park by herself the next day. He frowned when she said nothing. "So… Remus has a fever. The full moon's in two days. But we wanted to see you anyway."

Still not saying anything, Kim hopped off the swing. She folded her arms over her chest and scowled, hating them both. Harry because he got to live with Padfoot and Remus without a problem, and Sirius because he was too busy fighting with Severus to put much effort into making sure she didn't have to go back to the Dursleys.

Picking up on her dark feelings, Harry glanced at Sirius, but he had no idea what was wrong and tried to smile. "So, Professor Dumbledore didn't clog me with paperwork as much as he thought he could, Kimmy. I'll have you out of here by the end of the week! I figured we'd celebrate and go out to eat!"

"I have to be home before dark." Kim's voice was flat and cold. The resentment came off her in huge waves.

Sirius glanced in the direction of Privet Drive. "Did something happen, Kimmy? Because like I said, I'm picking you up on Saturday. But if something happened…"

Kim gritted her teeth. If she told him, he would take her away, get into trouble, and she'd be stuck here for the rest of the summer. "No."

"Right…" Sirius didn't believe her for one second but didn't know what to do. If only Remus was here. "Well how about we go to a diner and get every dessert on the menu?"

"I have to be home before dark," Kim repeated, even though it was hardly past lunchtime. Honestly, she just wanted to be left alone for a while. She was still shaken up from yesterday.

"Do you want me to stay with you this week?" Harry. Kim stared in shock. Surely Sirius and Remus told him what the Dursleys were like. Either he didn't understand or was being a chivalrous idiot.

"No," she spat. If she was honest with herself (which she wasn't), she would've been touched but focused on the fact that Harry had a choice and was angry instead.

"Hey!" Sirius yelled. Harry was just being nice. "Kimmy, I know you're mad at me, and I know you're mad at Remus, but Harry didn't do anything. You have to tell me what's wrong, or I'm going to have to assume it's because of my fight with Snape three weeks ago."

Kim sneered and walked past him. "Fine. Let's go."

All too soon, the sun had set, and Kim had to go back to Privet Drive. Harry had offered again to stay with her, and despite the fact that she knew Sirius wouldn't allow it, it was still a nice gesture. That made her want to be mean again, but instead, she simply darted into the house without another word.

* * *

The next day, Kim inhaled her grapefruit before Dudley could steal it and was out of the house before she could say Quidditch. She'd worry about her chores at lunch time, when she knew Uncle Vernon would be gone for work.

"Hi." Stanley found her after she barely set her foot out the door. And for once, he was acting a little shy. Most likely because they hadn't spoken since the middle of the summer, when Severus and Mrs. Malfoy came to rescue her.

Kim smiled, though she was sure it didn't reach her eyes. "Hey. I had a crazy school year. You?"

Stanley shrugged. "Dudley was bragging to Piers about what your uncle did. I told my dad."

 _What?!_ Kim froze. The last thing she needed was the Muggle authorities getting involved. "Dudley lies. I think his new diet is making him delusional from lack of sugar."

"No." Stanley glared at Number Four as if it was at fault for the people it housed. "He's too stupid to come up with that. My dad said you can stay with us."

Kim squirmed. What could she say to that? Blaise was 'nearly her boyfriend' as Ginny called him. But she couldn't stay at Number Four either. Blaise would understand. If he knew exactly what happened anyway, which he won't! Merlin she felt horrible. Still, the guilt didn't stop her from saying, "I'll get my stuff."

Stanley grinned. "Cool."

Twenty minutes later, Kim burst out of Number Four's front door with Hedwig and a cramped to capacity backpack. She'd get her books with Padfoot later. "Thanks."

Stanley's grin only widened. His brother had bought a hammock after he came home from college. She'd thank him with a snogging session on that later. Until then… He took the house key out of his pocket and handed it to her. Snickering, he gestured to the Dursleys' new car. "I think you should give them a goodbye present."

Kim's dark eyes slid to the car, and for the first time since she got off the Hogwarts Express, she genuinely smiled. "Definitely."

* * *

For the first time all week, Remus was awake when Severus stopped by to bring him his Wolfsbane. He forced himself to smile when Severus froze with the tray of potions in his doorway. "Sirius and Harry are out with Kim. You know, I thought you would send Albus over for this."

Severus rolled his eyes and set the tray on the nightstand by his bed. "Black banned Albus from the floo but was too stupid to remember to block me."

Remus watched Severus start to leave. This could be the last time he saw the other man for a month. "Sirius was going to apologize. The day you two dueled. I told him that I trusted you."

Severus laughed bitterly before turning around. "Clearly, you were wrong."

"No… I don't think I was." Remus broke into a coughing fit, although it was hard to move with all the pillows Sirius had used to prop him up. "I consider you a friend, Severus. And because of that, I am willing to forgive you."

Severus snorted. Yet again a Gryffindor was too trusting with a 'friend.' "That's nice, Lupin. Now if you'll excuse me, Narcissa is pestering me about the boy, since you've managed to convince Black to let him sleep over the Manor. For some reason, she thinks I'll know how to make him feel at home."

Remus sighed. There had to be a way to get Sirius and Severus to get along. "Can you come with us to pick up Kim Saturday? She's downright furious with Sirius and sends my letters back unopened."

Severus tensed, telling Remus that he knew something. Since he didn't argue, the werewolf only became more worried. "Very well."

* * *

On the day of the full moon, Sirius, very reluctantly, let Harry go over the Malfoys. It was very clear that he didn't like Draco's mother in particular, but instead of being hurt by it, Mrs. Malfoy thought it was funny. "Do you want to stay for tea, Sirius?"

"Don't push it, Cissa," Sirius mumbled before saying to Harry, "Write before dark. I want to make sure they didn't eat you."

Mortified, Harry opened his mouth to try to respond, but no words would come out. Thankfully, Mrs. Malfoy wasn't offended in the slightest. "Not to worry, Sirius," she said dryly. "We only eat Muggles."

Sirius thinned his lips and then tried to make conversion, or as Harry put it, tried to be as embarrassing as possible. "Abraxas dead yet?"

Narcissa glanced at Draco. If he wasn't there, her shoulders would've slumped, and she would have said, _I wish!_ Instead, she smiled. "That isn't funny, Sirius. So you aren't staying for tea?"

"No." Sirius put his hands on Harry's shoulders before leaving. "Don't forget to write."

"I won't," Harry promised, hoping Sirius was finally going home. Merlin, he was being embarrassing. Who says asks someone if her father in-law is dead _yet?_

Thankfully, Mrs. Malfoy led Sirius out before he could say anything else. "Time to go cousin. You're making my entrance hall smell like wet dog."

Once Mrs. Malfoy was gone, Draco started leading Harry outside so they could play a quick game of Quidditch before dinner was ready. At the sight of house elves skittering about, trying to be seen and not heard, Harry couldn't help but be reminded of the house he grew up in. Would Mr. Malfoy be like his father too? He sure hoped not…

"Grandfather is in France," Draco informed them as he led Harry to the gardens. An albino peacock jumped out of the bushes and stared at him. "So you don't have to worry about whatever Kim told you. He banned her from the Manor, by the way, so she probably made it out to be worse than it was."

"She hasn't been talking much." Since it was clear why, Harry couldn't help but feel a little guilty, so he quickly changed the subject. "Sorry… About Sirius. Sometimes it's like he thinks I'm made of glass."

Draco shrugged like it didn't matter. Honestly, he thought Black should be more worried about the monster in the house. "What's it like? Living with a werewolf, I mean."

Harry stopped in his tracks, wanting to get angry. The twinge of judgement was clear in Draco's voice, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. But he knew Draco, and if there was one way to get to him, it was to play on his conscience. "It's like living with someone who's dying. His immune system isn't too good around the full moon, so Sirius makes me constantly wash my hands if I even want to go near him. And Remus wants to do things, but he can't, because he's too exhausted, especially today."

That did the trick. Draco paled and looked at his feet. "Oh… Father told me that he'd get really animal-like around the full moon. That he'd yell and throw things. Eat nothing but raw meat and growl."

Harry covered his mouth to hide his smile. To anyone who didn't know him well, it looked like he doing so in shock. How could Draco possibly believe that? Once he was sure he wouldn't laugh, he said as seriously as he could, "Remus is one of the nicest people I ever met. And believe it or not, he can be rather squeamish. So no, he isn't dragging in a headless deer to gnaw on at the dinner table."

Draco looked up and narrowed his eyes at Harry making fun of him. "I never met a werewolf before! How was I supposed to know what they're like?"

This time, Harry did let himself laugh. "You've _known_ one for three years. You just weren't aware of it. He isn't any different than he was. Your perception just is."

Sighing, Draco grabbed the doorknob that led to the exit of the garden. "You're starting to sound like Blaise. And he's been getting on my nerves lately."

 _Gee, I wonder why,_ Harry thought dryly as they left the garden. Draco didn't bring up Remus again, instead spending a lot of time complaining about Hermione Granger, Kim's friend who had bested him in the Arthimancy final. Throughout the night, he couldn't help but wonder. Did his perception change yet again?

* * *

Severus refused to so much as look at Black when he apparated to Privet Drive. Lupin looked half dead on his feet but still managed to smack the mutt on the back of his head when he muttered something under his breath. Severus ignored him and banged on Number Four's door.

Once again, Petunia ripped said door open. "She's at the neighbor's. Like last year." Her eyes flickered to the family car. "And I expect to be compensated for the damage."

Curiously, Severus looked at the car to see it keyed several times. Otherwise, it appeared to be brand new and rather expensive. After he replayed the first sentence in his head, he quickly stopped caring and started stomping across the street. He faintly heard Lupin awkwardly explaining to Black and Potter why he was so angry.

Severus almost barged into the house with magic until he heard Kimberly giggling in the backyard. Growling, he ripped open the gate, not caring the Black was at his heels, equally furious.

They were at the pool, sticking their feet in, which was innocent enough, but Severus didn't care. She should know better after last year. Without a second thought, Severus roughly pushed Stanley into the in-ground pool. The boy barely had time to let out a yelp.

Wide-eyed, Kimberly spun around to face him. He expected her to be as nasty with him as she was with Black, considering what he just did. Instead, she scrambled to her feet, eyes filled with tears, and hugged him tightly.

Severus became as still as a statue and could practically feel the jealously radiating off Black. When the boy started climbing out of the pool, the mutt pushed him back in.

"Sirius!" Remus gripped his cane, wishing they hadn't brought Harry. This was one of his first experiences with Muggles… He was being more quiet than usual, probably realizing why they were trying to push him to stay home.

"Kimberly," Severus tried when she wouldn't let go. "You're leaving. So we have to go across the street to get your things."

Resisting the urge to swear, Kim sent a look to Stanley, silently telling him not to say anything. Since he finally was out of the pool, he settled for glaring at Harry, who blinked in surprise and then glared back. "Er… I left a backpack in the kitchen. In-in case I went swimming. And Hedwig's at Ron's."

Thanking her lucky stars that her backpack was in fact in the kitchen, Kim made a beeline for the backdoor before Severus could say anything. She almost groaned when everyone followed. Why couldn't see get away with anything, just once?

In the kitchen, Severus spotted what he could only describe as a Muggle version of Arthur Weasley. He was rather engrossed in a Muggle fantasy novel, almost completely oblivious to the blaring television in the next room along with their arrival. After he finished the page on his book, he looked up at Kimberly to see her trying to flee out the door with her overstuffed backpack.

"Kimmy?" The mutt bristled when he heard the Muggle call her that. Severus rolled his eyes. "Are you leaving? I thought a man and a woman picked you up last time."

Dripping wet, Stanley pointed to Severus. "That's the man." Not bothering to look at them anymore, he made for the fridge. "The hot old lady isn't here this time."

Not wanting to be rude to the man who fed her all week, Kim introduced everyone by pointing at them. "My dads Severus and Remus, my brother Harry, and… my friend Sirius."

"Godfather," the dog corrected. Severus almost laughed. He most certainly looked like a kicked puppy.

The man blinked owlishly at him before perking up. "Right. Well there'll be no need to interrogate Kimmy later. I made sure she slept in the guest room all week."

Kim smacked her forehead. So close! She was so close! Stanley slammed the fridge shut and darted upstairs with his soda can. Still, she couldn't bring herself to get angry with Stanley's clueless dad. He reminded her too much of Mr. Weasley. "Thanks, Mr. Kowright. I-I have to go across the street now and get my books."

"Don't worry about it, Kimmy. Hopefully I'll see you again soon!" he called out as Kim fast walked out the backdoor with Severus trailing behind her. Remus had to push Sirius in the same direction so he wouldn't try to find Stanley, but Harry stopped to smile at the Muggle. Maybe they weren't so hostile after all.

"Kimberly!" Severus yelled when she kept walking to Number Four. "Kimberly!"

Kim didn't stop fast walking until they were in the middle of the street. She spun around and screamed, "You couldn't expect me to stay there!"

That shut Severus up, but Kim could tell it was only until they were at the cottage. If she wasn't so scared of Uncle Vernon, she would've packed her textbooks extra slow. Since Remus was the only one who at least pretending to listen, Aunt Petunia complained to him about the car.

Harry was starting at Dudley, well, Dudley's telly, in fascination. Uncle Vernon tried to intimidate him with an evil stare down, but Harry merely twiddled with his wand from his pocket to make the walrus back off. Kim froze mid-pack at the cupboard. The act was so subtle that no one else noticed. No wonder Harry was such good friends with the Slytherins. He may be shy, but that didn't make him a pushover.

When Kim snapped her trunk shut, she wondered if she should stall and go back upstairs in case she left something behind. She probably would have if Remus wasn't so pale as he hummed every once and a while to Aunt Petunia's complaints or if Sirius didn't look so hurt. She hadn't _wanted_ to hurt his feelings. It was just… He promised she wouldn't go back to the Dursleys, and when he wasn't able to fulfil that promise, she felt betrayed.

"Okay," Kim said bravely. "I'm ready."

Severus narrowed his eyes but didn't miss a beat, snapping at Aunt Petunia, "Shut up about the car, Petunia. You're lucky that's the only thing that's happening to your property."

They apparated to the cottage in the kitchen, and Kim could've sworn in it was the longest apparition in the history of history. The fact that Severus was the one she side-longed with only made it worse.

Severus wasted no time once they were in the sitting room. "Were you having sex with him?"

Remus flinched, and Harry didn't have to be told to go to his room. He practically ran to it. _Who could blame him?_ Kim thought darkly.

"No," she answered with all her Gryffindor courage. And she was telling the truth, for once. Maybe that's why Severus thought she was lying.

"I don't believe you," he growled. "Honestly, Kimberly! You could have written. You could have done anything but—"

"It doesn't matter that you don't believe her," Sirius said quietly. "Because I do."

Severus tensed and slowly turned to face Padfoot. Kim looked at her feet guiltily. She had resented them not too long ago for not getting along. Now they weren't getting along because of her. She wanted to explain to Severus what happened. Then he would believe her. But she didn't feel comfortable saying it around Padfoot. It wasn't that she didn't like him. It was that she had never felt more vulnerable than she had that night.

"Because you were too busy gnawing at flea bites to know what happened last summer, Black!" Severus was livid, taking no notice of Remus, who seemed to want more than anything to fade into the background and not get caught in the middle. "She gets lonely and that boy takes advantage of it."

Sirius took a step closer to Severus and whipped his wand out. "I _was_ there last summer. _Before_ you picked her up. And I saw her set boundaries and once she did, he respected them, Snivellus. Yeah, I don't think highly of him, but I trust her judgement!"

Severus snorted. "Then you are a fool, Black."

"Severus," Remus chided gently.

"I—" Kim tried, but Sirius cut her off. It was probably a good thing too, since she was going to yell childishly that she knew how to take care of herself.

"GET OUT!" Sirius screamed. "I don't care what you've tricked Remus into believing! Your role in her life is OVER! She's my goddaughter, not yours. So stop accusing her of stuff she didn't do!"

Severus stared at Remus, thinking he would say _something_ at least. But he was quite literally caught in the middle, and Severus thought him pathetic for it. After a moment, he turned back to Sirius. "Goddaughter? You only know how to be her friend."

Before Sirius could respond, Severus apparated away.

* * *

"Did the Wards fall?" Severus asked as he paced Albus's office. The more he focused on this, the less he had to think about what had happened at the cottage or what currently was happening there. He wouldn't be surprised if Black was serving cake and ice cream for supper while Lupin cowered in the corner.

After a few moments of silence, Albus finally answered. "No."

Severus stopped pacing, wanting to throttle the old man. "So… All this time, she didn't have to live with them. She only had to live close by. She was across the fucking street for nearly a week, and you didn't even notice!"

"I was unaware…" Albus sighed, a life time of guilt weighing him down. "It doesn't matter now. Sirius will not even consider moving—"

" _I_ would have moved!" Severus hissed. "Two bloody years ago! I would have lived right next door if I had to! But no! You had to terrify an eleven year old to send her back to those animals!"

"If I had known…" Albus shook his head. He would have done a lot of things differently in his life if he had only known better. "I did all the research possible, Severus. I thought I was doing what was best—"

"What was best for the defeater of the Dark Lord!" Although he was still agitated, Severus sat across from the headmaster. "And you know what? You couldn't pull your head out of your arse to see what was best! She was with them for _ten years_ , Albus. The second she's sent back, she snaps back to what she was. It's the only way she knows how to survive there."

"She is resilient." Albus sounded like he was trying to convince himself. He probably was, considering that Black's ban was still going strong. The old man couldn't meddle and snoop until September, unless he forced his way into the cottage.

"She didn't have to be," Severus said sourly. "I would have moved out of that hellhole at Spinner's End for her."

Briefly, Albus wondered why Severus was being so open with him. Usually he masked his affection for Kimberly with gruffness or hostility. Maybe it was because he thought that like with Lily, he was being shut out again. "I know you would have, Severus. I know."

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! If there's anything else new readers need to know, I'll put it at the end of other chapters. Skimming the last four chapters of PoA will help.**

 **FOR NEW READERS WHO DON'T WANT TO READ THE OTHER THREE BOOKS:**

 **1\. Kim has a bad problem with accidental magic when she gets nervous. It builds up in her brain and hurts her head when she gets really scared (like when she faced the troll) but suppresses it around the Dursleys, which is why there is a problem in the first place.**

 **2\. Before Sirius was free, Severus and Remus were the main parental figures in Kim's life.**

 **3\. Kim didn't know about Harry until the end of her third year. He's Remus's godson, so Remus thought he would have a better chance getting custody of the both of them if he got Harry first. He lost in court, and Harry and Kim were separated. Because of him keeping it a secret, Kim's relationship with Remus is strained.**

 **4\. Stanley is Piers Polkiss's stepbrother. I wrote that his mother got remarried last book.**

 **5\. Kim and Draco were close friends, until last year, when Kim got really jealous of him going out with Pansy, and Draco got angry with her for fighting with Pansy. Harry and Draco became fast friends when he came to Hogwarts.**


	2. Healing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you VampirePrincess11, LilyEvansDouble, and Emarye (both times) for reviewing! And thank you Gwenlynn for the review of the one-shot!**

 **VampirePrincess11: Actually, I almost had her go to a party where she drank, but Chapter 3 was getting too long, and I cut it, figuring it would distract from the story anway.**

 **Emarye: Chapter 3 has your dust in it!**

 **Gwenlynn:**

 **At first, I would've said that Kim is definitely the Chosen One but thinking about it, maybe it could be up to debate. In this chapter, you'll see I have Kim as being born 70 minutes before the 7** **th** **month dies and Harry being born as it is actually dying. Also Harry is the better fighter, but Kim has the scar and has fought Voldemort before. Also, Harry is technically born August 1st. So I guess we'll see. :)**

 **Oh although it doesn't look like it these first few chapters, Kim will gain some maturity this book. In this chapter, she acts childish to try to hide the fact that what happens in the chapter bothers her, which I guess is better than her tantrums 1** **st** **year. But she starts fighting for herself in Chapter 4. However, a character death at the end of GoF leaves her shaken up for a while.**

 **NEW READERS** **: Severus and Professor Vector are in a very casual relationship since the end of Kim's 2** **nd** **year. And by casual, I pretty much mean sort of friends and mostly physical during the summer. I don't think Severus is capable of having a what some might call "real" romantic relationship until he deals with what he did to Lily. However, Vector helped him with the Blood Wards before, and they resumed their "relationship" for the summer again.**

Chapter 2 Healing

Sirius never pretended to be an early riser, and Remus never pretended that he didn't like to wake up at ungodly hours. So, usually when Remus would wake up and start preparing for the day, Sirius would moan, crawl off the couch from where he was sleeping and hide under the covers in Remus's bed for most of the morning. There he could hide from the sounds of Remus cooking or cleaning or whatever else he did at what Sirius considered the crack of dawn. Remus often spoke of getting him bed that he could put in the basement or in his room, but they hadn't gotten around to it yet.

It was nearly noon when Sirius finished his morning shower to head to the oven where Remus put his breakfast. He laughed at Kim and Harry at the kitchen table. "So Remus finally got you to do some homework, eh Kimmy?"

Kim scowled. It was barely July! "No. He _Slytherin'ed_ me. He convinced Harry to get started on his Potions, so _I_ have to help him."

Harry grinned sheepishly while Remus, who was fixing a leaky pipe under the kitchen sink, laughed. Sirius was fully prepared to tease her about it until he saw Kim skimming the chapter in her textbook. "Kimmy? Why are you reading like that?"

"She always reads like that," Harry said without looking up from his own book before Kim could say that she didn't know what he was talking about.

Sirius raised his eyebrows as he set his plate on the table. She was reading with her textbook out at arm's length. "My father used to read like that. Until my mother made him get reading glasses."

Kim froze. No. There was no way she needed glasses. Suspiciously, she glanced at Harry as if he could infect her with bad eyesight.

"Don't look at me!" Harry held up his hands in surrender, half serious. He had no idea if she actually believed that or not. She was rather odd… "I'm nearsighted."

Kim thumped her book on the table. "This is near! And it's _your_ genes that ruined my eyes!"  
"I-I'm not your dad!" Harry tried, not bothering to explain that nearsighted was the opposite of what she thought.

Kim opened her mouth to harass him some more, but Remus finally came out from under the sink. He glared at Sirius, who saw this as no big deal and was smiling as he chomped on his bacon. Hopefully she wouldn't get too upset. Although she didn't wear makeup or obsess over clothes, Remus had a feeling that Kim was at least a little vain.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked gently. How could he not have noticed?

"I don't know!" Kim shot back, voice rising in pitch. She couldn't picture herself with glasses. Oh Merlin! She was going to have a big ugly scar on her head _and_ glasses.

Remus thinned his lips at her tone but decided to let it go. The fact that Sirius was borderline laughing at her wasn't helping matters. Sometimes he swore the other man was half his age.

* * *

The next day, Remus had an appointment made for Kim, only to realize he couldn't take her himself. Therefore, he was met with the impossible task of waking Sirius up before ten a.m. He nudged his old friend. "Padfoot."

Sirius moaned and covered his head with Remus's pillow. All could be heard was, "Mgnhaahh, Moony."

"Good morning to you too." Remus snatched the pillow away and was tempted to conjure cold water. Sirius had no reason to sleep later than the two teenagers in the house. "You have to take Kim to the eye healer in an hour. I was going to take her, but I have a firecall with Harry's mother at eleven thirty."

"I'll do that," Sirius slurred sleepily, thinking that he could then sleep until at least 11:29.

Remus glanced at the door to make sure it was firmly shut. He lowered his voice when he said, "She can be a handful. I don't want her reminding you of Walburga. She just wants to interrogate me about how clean the house is and what Harry's been eating. She'll nitpick for a while and then say she's stopping by in August."

Sirius sat up and tried to blink the blurriness out of his eyes. The sound of his mother's name woke him right up. "Why can't we just adopt Harry back and never speak to her again?"

Remus sighed. He didn't want to pressure Harry into anything. "We'll ask him after he gets more comfortable. She's his mother Sirius, and although he scowls at the mention of her, I can tell he doesn't entirely dislike her."

"Fine," Sirius grumbled as he slowly got out of bed to trudge to the kitchen. He stopped in the parlor and whispered, "I think she's still mad at me Moony. _And_ she's in a mood."

"How would you know Sirius…?" Remus looked over to where Harry was trying to assemble an old chess set he found in the basement. Like a five year old, Kim roared and knocked all the pieces down with a giant, dark green toy dinosaur.

Making a sound of disbelief and surprise, Harry pointed at the dinosaur. "Where'd you even get that?!"

"I stole it from Dudley," she said as if it was obvious. "You should help me blow it up outside since Remus said Ron can't come over."

Harry frowned, thinking she was blaming him. It wasn't his fault that Ron looked at him as if he were the spawn of Satan! "Uh, well…"

"Actually Kimmy," Sirius cut in so Harry wouldn't have to say he wasn't interested. "You're heading out to get glasses with me today. We'll go to London and bring home Chinese food for supper."

Kim stared like she'd rather have tea with Dolores Umbridge. After a moment, she sighed dramatically and put the dinosaur down. "Fine. I was _trying_ to be nice."

Harry stared as she ran off to get dressed. That was her trying to be nice?

* * *

A few days later, Hedwig dropped a letter off at Spinner's End. Septima had holed herself up in his house again and smiled brightly when she handed Severus the letter. "Look what I found," she cooed, teasing him. "Feels like a lot of parchment too!"

Severus pretended to look miserable, not wanting Septima to know that he was curious about what was going on at the cottage. "And it is probably filled with mind-numbing useless chatter."

Ignoring Septima, he opened the letter, almost groaning by the fourth sentence. She really was as arrogant as James Potter.

 _Dear Severus,_

 _Sirius is annoying. He put something in the shampoo and now we_ _all_ _have black hair. Remus looks really weird. Luckily I can pull off any hair color. It'll wash out by Friday._

 _Harry's nice, I guess. But he doesn't like to blow up things,_ _and_ _Draco is coming over for my, I mean_ _our_ _birthday. Well, his birthday is technically August first. Remus says he was born a minute after midnight. I wish I was a midnight baby, but Remus says I was a 10:50 baby. Boring._

 _Did you know Mum thought she was only having me? And that Harry was hiding behind me? That sounds like him, not wanting to be noticed._

 _Remus told me that too. I'm not really mad at him anymore, even though he said I couldn't have a kitten. Instead, he said that you can come over for my birthday! (I'd appreciate it if you brought a kitten. A white fluffy one would be preferred.)_

 _I've had a rough few days, Severus. My hair is black, Harry kind of reminds me of Hermione, and I'm getting old! I need reading glasses, and the eye healer was confused, saying that usually this doesn't happen to people younger than their forties. I'm not sure I like how I look in glasses… I'm not really looking forward to going back to school._

 _Remus said you can take me to see Blaise, since he felt bad after Sirius called me four eyes. It was kind of punishing Sirius since he said that Blaise can't come over. Remus said that you can take me and that I can just floo to Spinner's End even if you say no._

 _Please don't say no,_

 _Kim_

"She's so cute," Septima crooned. Severus turned slightly to see her reading the letter over his shoulder. Damn that woman… "You can't say no, Severus!

"I can, and I will," Severus said firmly. "No one else is going to punish her for what she did the other week! I'm not going to take her to see _another_ boy."

Since she planned on burning any rejection letters, Septima changed the subject. "Why do you think she needs the glasses?"

"I have a hunch," Severus muttered, tone making it clear that he wasn't going to tell her. "And if I'm right, I'm skinning Lupin alive."

* * *

Kim flooed over around when Severus was _trying_ to kick Septima out. She stared at her Arthimancy professor in complete shock, not wanting to think about what she was doing at Severus's house. From the looks of things, she was living here.

Professor Vector smiled at her, and Kim barely recognized her once strict teacher. "Not to worry darling—"

"She was just leaving," Severus growled, looking like he wanted to throw the suitcase he was holding at her and push her through the floo.

Professor Vector winked. "See? We're barely friends."

"Friends?" Severus repeated as if she was out of her mind. "You're lucky I don't have the authorities come to evict you, Septima!"

To Kim's horror, Professor Vector snatched the suitcase out of Severus's hands and kissed his cheek. Kissed him! She actually kissed him and didn't even melt. "I'm going to sit in on one of my friend's classes at university for today. Don't wait up! I've had my eye on her brother!"

If Fred and George were there to watch Professor Vector go, they would've made exaggerated gagging noises and crude jokes. Kim could only gape like an idiot. Severus had a girlfriend… Sort of? Professor Vector, who separated her and Blaise in class for passing notes, was-was shacked up with Severus!

"Kimberly! What did you do to your hair?" Clearly Severus wanted to act like Professor Vector was never even there.

Kim blinked in surprise, thinking that she'd never look at Severus the same way again. Then, she replayed what he said in her head and glowered. "Padfoot charmed it blonde when I was sleeping because he heard me say that I was so perfect that I could pull off any hair color."

"You were wrong," Severus drawled while he took out his wand to undo the charm. "Obviously."

Despite the fact that her Malfoy blond hair was finally gone, Kim pouted. "It was too light…"

Severus rolled his eyes. Black's development had obviously frozen in Azkaban, meaning that he barely had more maturity than the Weasley twins. It was a miracle that the cottage hadn't burned to the ground yet. "What time are you supposed to be at Mr. Zabini's? I wouldn't take you if his mother wasn't so… Never mind, Kimberly. What time are we supposed to be there?"

Having no idea what Severus was talking about, Kim grinned triumphantly. "Noon! Oh and—" She waved a suitcase in the air. "At breakfast Padfoot said that you ate baby bunnies to try to scare Harry, so Remus said I can sleep over!"

Severus narrowed his eyes. Merlin, Black was more insufferable than the girl. "Wonderful."

* * *

While Kimberly was chattering nonstop with Mr. Zabini on the deck of the boat, Severus was stuck in one of the rooms under it in what looked like an office. Mrs. Zabini smiled at him, showing off perfect, blindingly white teeth. "Blaise adores her."

"Just don't kill her if he suddenly doesn't," Severus muttered. And people thought he was a vampire! She didn't look a day over twenty five and had a certain coldness about her that made one's hair stand on its end. It was a coldness, however, that melted in the presence of her son.

Mrs. Zabini didn't stop smiling but shook her head. "Even if his feelings stopped being romantic… She brings out a light in him that I haven't seen since he was a baby. I fear… I didn't realize until it was too late how my… _love life_ affected him."

Severus didn't say anything. Many would say that Mrs. Zabini was a serial killer. He wasn't entirely sure that they were wrong. The only one who kept her at least partially human was her son.

"So I think I'm going to give up on men for a while," she went on tiredly. "And perhaps the women." Severus tried not to react at all to that little confession. She made it sound like she was telling him that she liked a peculiar flavor Bertie Bott's beans. "Blaise deserves to be happy. He's the only light in my life."

She played absentmindedly with her dark brown hair, which Severus thought was a little too girlish for someone who's mud colored eyes seemed older than time itself. Finally he said, "You're putting a lot of responsibility on a girl who isn't even fourteen."

Mrs. Zabini hummed in agreement. "Doesn't everyone? I know it's a long shot that they will marry and live happily ever after, Severus, but… She's good for him. She takes some of the seriousness out of him. And I want Blaise to laugh like he does with her for as long as possible. They'll always be friends, if not lovers."

Severus shuddered in repulsion at the word 'lovers.' They were fourteen bloody years old damn it! "Mrs. Zabini—"

"Call me Celeste," she insisted so softly that Severus had to force himself to remember that her last husband was eaten by crocodiles while the family was on vacation.

"Mrs. Zabini," he repeated, making her chuckle like she thought he was being brave. "Kimberly will be fourteen in a few weeks. She's going to do stupid things that fourteen year olds do. I'm hoping you won't react too strongly to whatever mistakes she will make."

Mrs. Zabini made a soft sound that Severus was supposed was another laugh. "Of course she will. Blaise will probably too. I want them to be able to. I want them to be children."

"What exactly are you saying?" Severus asked slowly. He hoped she wasn't going to say something stupid like she wanted to join Dumbledore. The idea of working with her in the Order as a spy made his skin crawl.

"What I'm saying is…" She glanced at a picture on her wall. It was of her at her wedding to the late Mr. Zabini. In it, she was staring sadly at her dinner plate, and although Severus didn't think it was possible, it was clear that she was scared out of her mind. "I'm saying that anyone who stands in the way of that is already dead."

* * *

At supper, Severus was trying to ignore the fact that Kimberly's lips were a little on the swollen side and was doing his best not to gag. He tried to remember that even looking at Mr. Zabini the wrong way can result in him getting his brains blown out. Finally, he was able to ask, "So I take that Mr. Zabini is currently your significant other?"

Kim wrinkled her nose at his choice of words. "Not exactly. He was a little upset about earlier this summer… But he understood, and he's coming over for my birthday."

"And what exactly did he understand, Kimberly?" Severus forced his voice to remain neutral, knowing this was a dangerous topic for them both. He still didn't entirely believe that they weren't having sex, no matter how much Lupin insisted in the letters they traded from time to time.

Kim twiddled with the string bean on her fork, wondering vaguely how she was going to get away with not eating it. "That I was scared. You don't… I would've hid in my room for a week if Dudley hadn't told Piers. But I had the opportunity to feel safe at night, and I took it."

"I know it's horrible there," Severus muttered. He knew probably more than anyone else and was having a hard time saying she shouldn't have taken the opportunity to get out when presented with it. What bothered him the most was that she shouldn't have had to. She shouldn't have felt that her only option was to present herself to that boy on a silver platter.

Kim threw her fork down and pushed her plate away, sensing his judgement. It wasn't fair. "I didn't have sex with him," she swore. "I would have had to pass his brother's room and Piers's to get to it, and-and Piers _hates_ me! He would do anything to get me out of the house! Especially after Dudley told him…"

"After Dudley told him what?" Severus pressed, softly for once. She didn't _seem_ hurt. But he doubted Lupin or Black thought to check her for injuries. They were simply happy to have her with having to worry about her ever being sent to Privet Drive again.

Kim squirmed and tried to act like she didn't hear him. Blushing, she tried to start eating again, but the chicken tasted more like dirt. Finally, she swallowed and whispered, "I didn't want Padfoot to get in trouble…"

"Well Black isn't here." However, Severus was sure he was going to have to tell him about this. He was actually starting to feel sick, fearing the worst. "And Lupin… _Remus_ won't let him do anything stupid."

Kim bit her lip. Severus never called Remus by his first name before. "He… When he picked me up, we didn't go to Privet Drive. We went… to this part of London where..." To her dismay, her eyes filled with tears. "I couldn't get dropped off there! You would never find me!"

"Dropped off where?" Severus didn't bother to tell her about the Trace. If she was in immediate danger, it wouldn't have done much good.

"I don't know!" she cried. Severus barely had time to duck as the toaster flew over his head.

"Kimberly." Swearing under his breath, Severus immobilized the fridge, which seemed dangerously close to crashing into the ceiling. "Kimberly, calm down! You aren't going anywhere, and you don't have to worry about it anymore!"

Kim shook her head. She still had nightmares about it. She took a deep breath, not saying anything until she felt calm again. "I wish I was strong. I wish I could kill him."

 _What the bloody hell happened?!_ Severus wanted to scream, but he knew he wasn't going to get anything else out of her.

* * *

The last thing Kim expected was for Severus to take her to the hospital the next day. She expected interrogations, yelling, and (hopefully) a hug from Remus. Instead, Severus left with what he called a 'mind healer' for an hour and a half.

Kim sat at the little round table, hands folded perfectly, and was preparing herself for what she was determined to make the longest staring contest of her life. The lady seemed nice enough. She was in her thirties and had glasses that practically took over her face. Silently, Kim found herself grateful that her reading glasses were only rectangles that barely touched the tops of her cheeks.

The mind healer smiled. "Did you know I was in the class below Severus? I actually found him a little intimidating."

Involuntarily, Kim gave her the smallest of smiles. "He has that effect on people."

"My name is Ann," the healer informed her. "I'm afraid Severus didn't give me much to go on. Do you have any idea why you're here?"

Like the brat that she was, Kim rolled her eyes. The lady was too soft spoken for her liking. It was like she was walking on egg shells and happy to do it. "Because he wants me to tell you what I won't tell him. He's using you because I don't write in a diary for him to snoop in."

The healer smiled, although Kim thought it was a little forced. "Actually, he was afraid that you were hurt very badly."

"I wasn't," Kim grumbled. She folded her arms over her chest and looked away. "I just hate Uncle Vernon, that's all. Hate him so much I hate talking about him."

Ann blinked owlishly and scribbled something on her notepad before saying, "Do you really want him to have that much power over you? Does he deserve to?"

Kim wrinkled her nose, staring at the healer like she thought the woman was out of her mind. "He doesn't… erm… I don't like you."

Again, there was that forced smile. "That's alright. We can't like everyone now, can we? But it doesn't bother me, you know why?"

Kim narrowed her eyes, not in the mood to hear the healer tell her that she didn't mean it. "No."

The healer answered anyway. "Because you don't determine how likeable I am. Just because you don't like me, doesn't mean no one else will. Just like Uncle Vernon. And Aunt Petunia. They don't determine how loveable you are. Just because they did not show you the love you deserved, doesn't mean no one else will. A couple of minutes ago, I happen to have met one person who loves you very much."

Kim's eyes widened. Otherwise, she didn't outwardly react. Once she was sure she could keep her face blank, Kim turned to the healer and started her staring contest.

* * *

Although Severus was sure Kimberly was terrorizing the mind healer, he thought it was the best place to take her. Black and Lupin would ask questions. Currently, he was in Albus's office. He'd pick her up once he figured out what happened.

"I know you have access to her Trace." After a night of having his mind imagine worst case scenarios, Severus wasn't in the mood for Albus's snooping or mind games. "Where was she after Lupin and Black let her go with Dursley?"

Albus raised his eyebrows. "Why do you need to know, Severus?"

Severus didn't want to say anything. It killed him to have to admit, "I don't know. I could only get out of her that he threatened to drop her off somewhere."

Albus studied him until he decided that Severus was telling the truth. "I no longer have access to it. You would have to ask Sirius."

Like hell he would. Growling, Severus stomped out of his office so he could head to Hogsmeade. He was going to have to apparate to Privet Drive.

* * *

When Severus finally found Stanley, he couldn't help but think he was rather immature. He was sixteen years old and making noises while he zoomed around on his bicycle, pretending it was a motorbike. Perhaps that's why he stuck to Kimberly like glue. His mind was a bit more like a fourteen year old, and, like the girl, it was obvious none of the other neighborhood children liked him. They wouldn't even look in his direction.

"Mr. Kowright," Severus boomed, too used to scaring Gryffindors to give it much thought.

Having no idea where he came from, Stanley threw himself off his bike and put his hands in the air, as if Severus was a member of the Muggle police. Once he recognized Severus, he stammered, "I-we-I didn't have sex with her. My older brother wouldn't give me one of his condoms."

Severus closed his eyes in disgust. That was the only thing that stopped him?! Since he needed answers, he forced himself not to react. "Wonderful. I was going to ask you about the reason she was allowed to stay with you, Mr. Kowright."

Stanley picked up his bike and held on to it tightly, as if could protect him from for the dour man. "She made me promise not to tell."

Severus gritted his teeth. This was getting ridiculous. "Would you like me to tell your father why you were such a _gentlemen_ with a _thirteen year old girl?_ "

Stanley swore under his breath but quickly caved. Not before mumbling, "She's almost fourteen."

"And the police would love to know that you'll be seventeen before Christmas," Severus drawled. From his file, he knew the boy had a birthday coming up in mid-December. "At least, that will be my defense for murdering you."

Believing him, Stanley gulped. "Fine! But don't tell her it was me! I couldn't let her get dropped off."

 _Oh for Merlin's sake!_ Severus shouted in his head. Through clenched teeth, he ground out, "Dropped off where?!"

* * *

"I don't like that lady," Kim told Severus proudly after completing what she considered the most awkward staring contest in history.

To her shock, Severus didn't glare at the ceiling or call her a brat. Instead, he gave her a small smile and took her to the nearest floo. Kim felt her throat close up. He knew.

They ate lunch in silence. All throughout, Kim tried pushing Severus's buttons to try to get him back to normal. She kicked her feet at the table and licked her sandwich like a cat licking its paws before taking a huge bite out of it. Severus only spoke after cringing while she blew bubbles in her milk while sipping it.

"I firecalled Lupin. He said you can sleep over again while he calms Black down." Severus frowned at his choice of words. "But it isn't your fault. Black is practically an infant and will have a tantrum any chance he gets."

Kim scowled and put her cup down, trying one last time to irritate Severus by wiping the milk mustache off with her sleeve. "Padfoot can be annoying, but I don't want him to go back to prison."

"He won't," Severus promised. He was in too much of a foul mood to talk about how wonderful it would be for Black to be back in Azkaban.

The girl's eyes became distant, but quickly, she brightened up in a way Severus found a little disturbing. "Can we go see Blaise again tomorrow?"

Trying not to groan, Severus was tempted to offer to get her that kitten instead. "His mother did mention going to a museum… So be warned that you will be under strict supervision, Kimberly."

Kim beamed. Maybe that healer lady was right. She shouldn't give the Dursleys the power to ruin her summer. The nightmares would soon fade, and she would go back to teasing Severus and Padfoot. She was going to be alright.

* * *

Despite Lupin's insistence that he could calm Black, Severus knew the mutt would only pretend to be placated. And so, as soon as Kimberly was asleep, he apparated to Privet Drive. But he wasn't sure if he was there to stop or help his childhood enemy.

"I don't want to kill them," the mutt swore. "They-they aren't home. I called them with Remus's… that thing that Muggles talk on, saying they won a weekend in London. But I made up the hotel name, so they're probably almost back by now."

Severus couldn't believe he was here. He should just apparate home before Septima returned and started bustling about the kitchen to find the ingredients to make Kimberly a giant (and probably half burnt) breakfast. "Let me guess, Lupin thinks you're sleeping like a baby?"

Black acted like he didn't hear him. He seemed lost in his own little world, trapped in 1981. "Kimmy was only a baby. She lost everything that Halloween. She lost everything and look how they treated her!"

Taking out his wand, Severus looked around to make sure no one else was out. "Don't make me stun you, Black. I have enough to worry about without having to deal with the aftermath of you killing three Muggles."

Again, Black wasn't listening. He picked up a rather large rock, and Severus looked down to see that he had a small pile of them. He threw one right through their parlor window. Then another and another.

"Black, one of the neighbors is going to—"

 _"Incendio!"_

Severus watched open mouthed as the spell shot right into the parlor through the giant hole in the window. The charm was so emotionally charged that it instantly burst into to flames, and Black fed the fire with a few more _Incendios_. He really needed to get out of here. He should apparate and leave Black to get what he deserved.

Black watched the house slowly burn down with a dark expression on his face. After a few minutes, Severus distantly heard sirens, but the stupid dog made no move to leave. As the second floor started to catch fire, Black remained as still as a statue as neighbors started to file out of their homes to see what was happening.

Knowing he was going to regret it later, Severus grabbed Black by his neck and apparated before someone could spot them. Since he wasn't sure where else to take the dog, they soon found themselves at Hogwarts Gates. Severus threw Black to the ground, getting some satisfaction out of watching the mutt collapse and start retching.

"What the fuck was that, Black?" Severus shouted.

Like a child being yelled at by his parents, Black shot back, "They need to know what it's like to lose everything too! They need to at least know a fraction of what it's like!"

Severus didn't say anything, most likely because it was painful to agree with Black. At least, that's what he told himself. He wanted more than anything to sneer at the dog and denounce him for what could only be a foolish Gryffindor's way of healing. Perhaps it was because he almost felt bad for Black as he collapsed to his knees and started sobbing. He tried to regard the man coolly but didn't abandon him like he should.

"I was supposed to protect her from that!" he sobbed. "I was supposed to keep everyone together. I was supposed to be the secret keeper!"

Severus froze, not knowing how to react. Why didn't he leave? Why was he rooted on the spot like a Gryffindor idiot?

Eventually, Lupin apparated to the Gates. His shoulders slumped in relief at the sight of Black unharmed. "Oh thank Merlin!" He turned to Severus. "Harry had the Map… Draco—never mind … Is he drunk? I thought for sure he would do something stupid."

Finally, Severus was able to sneer and be cold. "Trust me, Lupin. He did."

After taking a few deep breaths, Black quieted down. "Sorry, Moony."

Lupin looked like he didn't want to know. "Are the aurors going to be looking for you?"

Black sniffled. "No. Snivellus strangled me before anyone saw."

Sighing like he was dealing with an overgrown child, Remus mouthed to Severus, _"Thank you"_ before walking Black the few steps to the other side of the Gates to apparate to the cottage.

Once they were gone, Severus stared at where they once stood. Before he apparated home, he couldn't help but wonder, would Black ever be able to heal enough to be more than a shell of what he once was?

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Was Sirius too over the top? I made him do that because I think it's a big adjustment to be in prison and one of the most hated criminals out there, to being on the run and hunted, and then to raising two kids who look a lot like your dead best friends. I think part of the reason he acted the way he did in** _ **Order of the Phoenix**_ **is that he never got the chance to deal with what happened. Please review!**


	3. Partying

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you LilyEvansDouble, VampirePrincess11, and Emarye for reviewing!**

 **Emarye: It's been… what? Months since you requested OTP dust? I know it looks like I changed the concept, but I didn't! Fred and George just don't know what they made. The trick is however they matched the magical cores! :)**

 **A/N: I know Draco doesn't have an owl phobia in canon. It's just a weird thing I like to add in.**

Chapter 3 Partying

"What do you want for your birthday?" Kim asked Harry while staring at the clouds outside the cottage. She slept over Severus's for a third night before Padfoot was calm enough for her to come home. Harry had spent the last two nights at the Malfoys, and Kim couldn't help but feel bad for being so mean to Padfoot while she was at the Dursleys.

Harry didn't look up from where he was drawing in the dirt with a twig. "You don't have to get me anything."

Kim pushed herself up by her elbows. "But I know you got me something!" He confirmed it with a small smile. "I bet Sirius would take me to get you an owl!"

Harry shook his head. "It can't fly over seas, and Draco's afraid of them."

Kim perked up. "Really?"

Wondering if it was a bad idea to tell her that, Harry finally looked away from the dirt. "Leave him alone. It's a phobia. He has trouble taking stuff from his own owl."

Sighing dramatically, Kim threw herself back into the grass. She had less than two weeks to find Harry a present, and unfortunately, she felt like she barely knew him. "Hermione said to get you a book on British slang, but I think Ginny might make you one because she's madly in love with you."

"I've never even spoken to her!" Harry felt his cheeks burn and went back to scribbling in the dirt. Oh Merlin! She was going to be at the party! And her older brother too!

Kim rolled on her stomach. "Padfoot will help me." Then maybe Sirius would stop being so sad all the time.

* * *

After lunch, Kim tugged at Sirius's sleeve. "I want to buy Harry a ferret, so he won't get lonely when Draco's not around."

"What?" Still not used to…well, her, Harry wasn't sure how he should respond to that.

Sirius, who had taken to staring off into space after realizing that Remus dumped all the liquor the other night, blinked as if he didn't hear her. "What?"

"Remus!" Kim whined, thinking (hoping) Sirius was back to teasing her.

Smiling, Remus paused from the letter he was writing to Severus. "You're taking Kim to Diagon Alley to buy Harry a birthday present, Padfoot."

"I don't think I like ferrets," Harry tried feebly. In his opinion, they were kind of like evil versions of cats.

"Well you better speak up!" Kim ground out as she started dragging Sirius to the floo. "Because if we can't find you anything, we'll have to get you a ferret named Draconis!"

* * *

"Do you think Harry will like this?" Sirius asked. They had gone through half the stores in Diagon Alley, not wanting to admit that they didn't know Harry enough to know what to get him. Well… Kim had a feeling he wouldn't like the leather jacket that Sirius was holding up. It looked more fit for a biker.

"Erm…" Kim was determined not to hurt Padfoot's feelings any more than she had. If Sirius was going to get it, she just had to find a super amazing present to make up for it. "We should take an ice cream break before we decide."

Sirius nodded and put the jacket down, but Kim could tell he planned on buying it right after they finished eating. What were the odds a group of wizard bikers would stroll in and grab every last one? She doubted they were in Harry's favor…

As they headed to Florean Fortescue's, she could tell that everyone was watching them and didn't mind much, even though it obviously bothered Padfoot. When she was small, she liked that strangers stared. It was obvious they liked her, and Aunt Petunia couldn't do anything to stop them.

She ordered her usual strawberry ice cream while Sirius got chocolate with so much chocolate syrup that she wouldn't be surprised if he felt sick later. He even put brownie chunks in it. Still, he was rather gloomy with his snack that would make any chocolate fiend jealous. Kim squirmed guiltily. "Padfoot?"

He had just shoved the spoon in his mouth. "Hm?"

Kim pursed her lips. She always hated apologizing, even when she wanted to. "I'm sorry I was so mean to you earlier this summer, Padfoot. You didn't deserve it."

Sirius paled and put his spoon down. "Yes I did, Kimmy."

Kim shook her head. "I was mad at you because I wanted to go home with you… But I was more mad at Uncle Vernon, and… at myself, I guess. Sometimes I don't feel strong enough to protect myself. I was afraid of being dropped off and no one ever finding me."

Sirius wouldn't look at her, still feeling guilty. "If you're ever lost, point your wand in the air. A magical bus will pick you up."

Kim wanted to apologize again but wasn't sure if it would do any good. "It wasn't your fault, Sirius."

"I knew what kind of people they are and let you go anyway." Sirius stabbed at his ice cream, splattering chocolatey goop on the table. "Because I was too busy being angry with Snape. James would've punched me… Well, what was left of me after Lily got ahold of me."

Should she have kept her mouth shut? Having no idea if she made him feel worse, Kim looked down at her own melting ice cream. "I'm glad you adopted me, Padfoot."

Sirius smiled sadly, not brightening up until she scowled when he reached over the table and ruffled her hair. "I'm glad too, Kimmy."

* * *

Severus was tempted to send the brat a card for her birthday and tell her he'd see her next full moon. He didn't want to face Black after the mutt's little meltdown at Privet Drive. Albus thought it was him that burned the house down, until Septima decided to be disgusting and told the old goat they were having _relations_ at the time. Petunia had the nerve to ask for one of the Potter properties because besides the brat and Potter, she was Lily's only living relative. Luckily, Albus would need Black's permission, or Potter's legal guardians, who liked Muggles just as much as the Malfoys.

"You came! You came! You came!" Kimberly yelled excitedly and at such a high pitch that he couldn't help but cringe. Once she got a good look at him, she calmed down a bit and pouted. Then, she pointed at the bag he held. "That doesn't look like a kitten."

Almost wearily, he looked at Lupin. "How much sugar did you allow her to ingest?"

"It's her birthday, Severus." Remus smiled and subtly opened the kitchen window to let Hedwig fly out. Ever since Draco had arrived, she had been teasing him mercilessly with it. The poor boy had backed himself into a corner but was trying to act like he didn't notice. When Hedwig finally escaped, he sagged with relief.

Severus rolled his eyes and handed Kimberly the bag. "Since you, yet again, melted the other one."

Kim's eyes widened. "No! I was trying to teach Harry with the Potion's set, and _he_ melted it! He burns water!"

"Well now he has his own to melt." Severus barely glanced at the boy but saw that he blushed at Kimberly's words and then forced himself to smile shyly in thanks. He was so skittish that he wondered how the boy survived months on end in the womb with Kimberly the Barbarian.

The brat frowned but quickly tried to beat down her jealously by pointing to the back door. "Let's go find Hedwig!"

"Let's not!" Draco said almost instantly, but once he saw Mr. Zabini grab her hand as she led the way, he narrowed his eyes and followed, scowling and hiding behind the never ending pack of Weasley children.

Potter stopped before passing Severus and stammered out, "Th-thank you."

Severus snorted. "Surprisingly, you have more manners than your caveman father."

"Hey!" Black yelled, heading for him as if to punch him and giving Potter a chance to flee to the sanctuary of the backyard.

"Albus is looking for you, Black," Severus drawled. "The Muggle authorities have no idea what caused the fire."

Remus glared at Black. "Yes, we know. We got his letter. And he told us Petunia's demands for compensation."

Black glared at Lupin and stomped towards the fridge. He took several frozen patties and hotdogs out of the freezer and stomped outside like an angry child. Lupin sighed.

Ignoring Black, Severus raised his eyebrows at Lupin. "You aren't actually considering letting her stay in Lily's summer home."

Remus shook his head. "Sirius and I sat Kim down and explained what happened. Then I told her that the Dursleys were homeless. She looked at me like I was nuts when I said Petunia wanted to stay at the beach house. Is it wrong that I expected her to be a little more forgiving and agree?"

"Yes," Severus snapped. "Especially after this summer!"

Remus shrugged. That was a censored version of what Sirius said. "I didn't tell her what I thought. But Sirius knows. However, I would never pressure her since part of me does agree that they deserve to suffer. Sirius was angry with me for thinking they deserved compassion."

"Perhaps the boy would've agreed if he were in Kimberly's shoes. But most likely _years_ later, not a little over a month." Severus laughed bitterly. Was it was wrong that he was vaguely proud of her for not giving in?

"I know," Remus agreed, a little reluctantly. "I just feel somewhat responsible because… Sirius burned their house down! They have absolutely nothing… I don't know. I hate them for what they did to her, but it feels wrong to stoop to their level."

"They are cowards. Personally, I don't think Dursley would have gone through with it, but the point is that Kimberly believed it. She thought she was going to be dropped off somewhere to be raped or at the very least hurt, Lupin," Severus said as calmly as he could. "Do you know how violated she must have felt?"

He must have been too blunt for someone as weak as Lupin. As if he was hearing this for the first time, the werewolf turned a sickly green color and started heading for his room. "Excuse me."

* * *

However, everything was right as rain in Kimberly's world when Severus went outside to see what she was giggling about. Apparently her owl thought she was being annoying too and decided to get revenge. She was currently riding on the youngest Weasley boy's shoulders, trying to reach her beloved pet, who was flying just out of arms reach.

"Kimmy!" Black whined from the grill. "You'll fall and break your neck!"

"See," Potter muttered to Draco, who was keeping his eyes on the owl in case it attacked. "I told you he thinks we're made of glass."

Draco laughed, albeit a bit nervously. "Don't you wish you were a bit taller, Blaise?"

Mr. Zabini glowered like he wished he could make Weasley shorter instead. "You could say that."

Having enough of teenagers for one day, Severus was about to insult Black for being a wizard who can't light a grill, charm it lit, and leave. Unfortunately, the Weasley twins decided that too much time had passed without the spotlight on them. There was a puff of green smoke around Kimberly, and all hell broke loose.

"Hedwig!" Kim grunted as she tried to reach for her owl, who flapped a tiny bit higher in response. "I just want you to poop on him! That's all! He's a git, so he deserves it!"

"You're getting heavy," Ron grumbled from underneath her.

Annoyed, Kim leaned over, putting as much of her weight as she could on his head. "Never say that to a lady, Ronald."

"When there's a lady on my shoulders, I'll keep my mouth shut."

Kim opened her mouth to say that the most beautiful lady that Ron would ever have the privilege of having on his shoulders when she heard a rather loud _poof!_ Suddenly, her eyes burned as if sand were thrown in them, and she quickly shut them as she coughed at a dusty taste that flooded in her mouth.

"Oh look!" she heard Fred laugh out before she dared to open her eyes. "I didn't think Malfoy was still in the running. Who did you think was going to show up, Georgie?"

George sighed with obvious disappointment. "I was hoping poor Ronnie-kins had a chance. Let's throw one at him and see if he fancies everyone's favorite bookworm!"

After a moment, Kim dared to open her eyes. Underneath her, Ron was still spluttering, but everyone else deadly silent. Her face felt so itchy. She coughed out, "What are you talking about?"

Before she could get off Ron, Ginny, being the best friend that she is, ran over to Fred and George and stomped on both their feet. Confused, Kim tried to blink the dust out of her eyes while scrambling off Ron. Once she was off, he turned around and stared. "What's Malfoy's name doing above your head?"

Kim coughed and wasn't too happy to see green dust puff out. Gross. "What…?" She tried to look at her forehead but couldn't see anything. "Why would that ferret faced prat's name be on my head?"  
"I'm right here!" Draco called out from a few yards away, still keeping his distance since Hedwig landed on Ginny's shoulder.

Fred grinned. "It's our latest invention."

George held up a clear balloon filled with sparkling white dust. "So we're afraid that the ingredients are top secret!"

Fred waggled his eyebrows. "But we can tell you what it does!"

George tapped the tip of Kim's nose, wincing when Ginny stomped on his foot again. "It tells us who you fancy, dearest Kimmy."

Kim gaped, too stunned to say that they were wrong. She didn't fancy Draco. She liked… _Slam!_  
Since she didn't deny it, Blaise rose from his place against the house wall with Draco and Harry and slammed the backdoor, probably to floo home. Kim jumped and snapped out of it just in time to watch him leave.

Normally, Kim only got along with Fred and George during Quidditch. When she first met them, she didn't like them very much since they were so mean to Ron, who with Ginny was one of her first friends. But after three years on Gryffindor's team, she had slowly grown to like them. Too bad for them that weak friendship quickly came crashing down.

"Kimmy," Sirius tried feebly, but it was already too late.

With a feral cry, Kim pounced on George, knocking him to the ground in a flash. Glaring at him, she dug her knee into his ribs. "You're wrong."

Fred laughed. "Nope! We've been testing it on Mum and Dad all summer!"

Since Kim jabbed her knee in a little deeper, George choked out, "That's enough, Freddie! I don't want a bruise shaped like her bony knee!"

"Go to Blaise's house and tell him it's wrong!" she screamed.

"Kimberly," Severus cut in, although every reluctantly. He was far from a Weasley twin fan. "You do realize that you are fourteen years old today. Not four."

Kim glared at him. She probably looked ridiculous with all the green dust on her face. Bravely, she glanced at Draco and Harry. Draco was the color of a tomato while Harry was covering his mouth with his hand. Whether to hide a smile or his shock, she didn't know. Years later, when she finally had the courage to ask him, she would find out that he was trying to muffle laughter.

Growling to herself, Kimberly decided to be mature for once and release Weasley. Or so Severus thought.

With another Banshee like shriek, Kimberly jumped on the next Weasley. The more outgoing of the twins, Fred laughed when the brat pinned his arms up once they were on the ground. "I think you're right, Kimmy. Because Mum and Dad don't fancy each other. They _love_ each other!"

"Alright! Alright!" Since his goddaughter was near tears, Sirius decided that it was best to put a stop to all this nonsense. Besides, the dust was obviously rigged. Kimmy didn't fancy anyone. "Fred, George, go tell your mum you're banned from the house for a while."

Like it was nothing, Fred stood up with Kim still hanging off him. "Will do Padfoot. See you at the Cup."

Frustrated, Kim threw herself off him and sat in the dirt, wishing she had a rock to through at them while they left. Why didn't she deny it? Why couldn't she snap out of it before Blaise left?

Ginny crouched down in the dirt next to her while Severus walked to the edge of the property to apparate. "They're gits. They thought it was funny."

"And it was obviously wrong. Fred and George always have explosions coming out of their room from failures," Ron said as he plopped down beside her. He added loudly, "Who could fancy Malfoy anyway?"

"I don't see girls lining up to talk to you, Weasel!" Draco yelled back, voice a bit high pitched from embarrassment.

Kim couldn't remember ever being more humiliated in her life. Without another word, she jumped to her feet and ran to her room.

* * *

Everyone thought Severus went home, but instead, he went straight to the Weasleys. Therefore, Fred and George were unlucky enough to find their mother waiting for them when they got home after a detour in the cottage's kitchen for some cupcakes. They knew they were in for it when she was standing a few paces away from the floo, tapping her foot angrily with her arms folded over her chest.

George gulped. "Mum, we—"

"Are heading to Zabini Manor." Like the dungeon bat that he was, Snape appeared out of nowhere. "To explain that you charmed the dust to say 'Draco Lucius Malfoy' in green letters above her head. And that if you had missed and hit Ronald, the same name would have appeared over his."

Fred tried to smirk under Snape's evil stare. "Why would we tarnish our reputation as pranksters?"

"We worked for months on this!" George added.

"The Fancy Fairy Dust tests for all areas of compatibility!"

"Interests!"

"Competitiveness!"

"Dislikes!"

"The desire for certain traits in a partner!"

"Not to mention how long it took us to correlate matching magical cores!"

"And so much more!" Fred finished.

Severus scoffed. "You two idiots sound more like match makers, looking to find some poor, desperate idiot his or her soulmate. And I say poor and desperate because one would have to be so to need your services!"

"It doesn't matter!" Molly yelled, reminding Severus of an angry tiger. "I told you two I didn't want to see any more of your _inventions,_ so you take it upon yourselves to ruin her birthday! Ginny told me how much she liked the Zimbardo boy!"

"Zabini," Fred corrected before rubbing at his chin. "Maybe we need to perfect the formula a bit."

George nodded. "Remember when we threw it at Percy? And we thought he was _pretending_ to not know whose name was above his head? We figured that he was lying that because the name wasn't Penelope's."

"You will not be _working_ on it! Or anything else!" Molly snapped, putting her hands on her hips. "You will be going with Severus or I'll be cleaning out your room tonight!"

Fred and George looked at each other, silently communicating. What was scarier? Flooing to the notorious Zabini house with Snape or facing Mum's wrath? When they finally came to a conclusion they nodded to each other.

Fred gestured to the floo. "Lead the way, Professor!"

* * *

"Blaise, she was probably mortified!" Celeste Zabini could be heard from a distance when Severus flooed into their Manor with those hellish twins. He kept telling himself that he was doing this for Kimberly's safety, not because of how hurt her feelings were.

Severus glared at the Weasley twins like they were wasting his time. "Sounds like they're in the kitchen."

As if heading to the Gallows, Fred and George followed Severus, wondering if the rumors about Mrs. Zabini were true. Could she really snap a man's neck with her bare hands?

Blaise was glowering at his mother as she tried to force tea on him, thinking it would calm him down. Once he saw Fred and George, he turned heel and left. The twins started pushing each other to follow him, not stopping until they saw his mother starting at them.

"Both of you go before I break your fingers!" she snarled, making their blood run cold. "And if you don't convince him, I'm breaking your toes!" She took out her wand. "All it takes is a flick of the wrist!

As he watched them scramble away, Severus drawled, "You have such a way with words, Mrs. Zabini."

Celeste smirked. "That'll teach them not to mess with my boy."

Figuring they would be a while, Severus decided to teach the Weasley twins not to mess with his girl and left them alone in the house with a pair of angry Zabinis.

* * *

"I'm sorry I ruined your birthday," Kim mumbled to Harry that night when he stopped by her room.

Harry handed her a bag. Neville showed up shortly after she locked herself in her room. He sat on the side with Harry and Draco while an animated Ron told him what happened, making Draco gag as a chunk of hotdog fell out of the boy's mouth while he told the story. Needless to say, it was extremely awkward without her.

But Harry wasn't going to hold it against her. He would probably be trying to floo back to America if that happened to him. Instead of telling her so, he looked at the clock, waited for it to change to midnight and smiled. "You didn't. It just started."

Itching at her prickling scar, Kim reached for the drawer in her nightstand and took out an envelope. "You know what a zoo is, right?"

"I'm not that sheltered from Muggles," Harry said as he opened to envelope to find four tickets to the London Zoo. "But I've never been to one. Thank you."

"We'll go…" Groaning, Kim rubbed at her scar. It was really starting to bother her.

Harry frowned. He never saw her famous scar, since she hid it under her bangs. "Are you alright? Does it hurt often?"

Kim shook her head. Not unless Voldemort was around… Ignoring his inquires, she grabbed her gift bag and took out a stuffed doe. "How'd you know…?"

 _Know what?_ Harry thought. He pointed to the stuffed stag that Remus got her for Christmas three years ago, which was sitting next to her on her bed. "I just thought you liked them."

Remembering the white doe that saved her from the dementors, Kim couldn't take her eyes off the stuffed animal. Whenever she thought about the silvery white doe, she felt _safe,_ like it could protect her from anything.

Before she could thank Harry for it, she was hit with a blinding white hot pain in her scar. And then, she was hundreds of miles away.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! So, I know that the dream was a day off schedule, but I'm going to chalk it up to the fact that it isn't Pettigrew helping Voldemort. In my story, he's in Azkaban right now. It's a canon character that's helping. However, to my knowledge, this character does not have a canon first name. Therefore, I had to make one up. :) I (briefly) mentioned the name at least once, in the Philosopher's Stone, but I'm using a nickname next chapter so you probably won't recognize it. Please review!**


	4. Dreaming

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you LilyEvansDouble and Emarye for reviewing!**

 **A/N: I should have explained the dust better. Fred and George think it shows who she has a crush on, but it shows who Kim's meant to be with. ;)**

 **NEW READERS: As I mentioned before, Kim doesn't react well to accidental magic because of suppressing it at the Dursleys. There is reference to a past incident this chapter.**

Chapter 4 Dreaming

Sirius thought that Kimmy's friends would scatter once she holed herself in her room, but they stayed for a while, hoping she would come out eventually. That and the fact that Ron wanted her serving of cake. Luckily the promise of extra sweets kept him from realizing his sister couldn't stop sneaking glances at Harry. By the time everyone finally left, it was long after dark.

Since he was surrounded by kids he didn't really know for most of the day, Sirius figured Harry would go hide in his room too. When he headed to Kim's room with her gift, he smiled softly. Lily would have done that, no matter how risky it was to talk to a moody Kim.

And so, Sirius decided to take a leaf out of Lily and Harry's book and see what Remus was up to. He entered his room without knocking to find Moony looking at pictures of Kim and Harry as babies.

Sirius sat next to him to see a photo of Kim taking a fist full of Harry's first birthday cake. "She was a monster from the start." When Remus didn't respond, he said, "So I guess Snape told you off."

Remus shrugged. "The way I always dealt with it was pretending it didn't happen. If not, I would have done something similar to what you did a long time ago. After having to watch her go back the first time… I guess spending so much time pretending that she wasn't living that way made me believe it.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Moony," Sirius said tiredly, stretching and staring at the ceiling. "We have her now, and she'll never see them again. Unless of course, she wants to dance on their graves in a few decades."

Remus glared at him, figuring Sirius was thinking about Walburga. "I don't want her to hold on to her resentment for that long. And I don't want you to either."

Sirius narrowed his eyes. Remus always had at least some inkling of what was on his mind. "I'm just saying Moony, the world is a better place without Walburga Black, and it'll be a better place without Vernon and Petunia Dursley."

Remus sighed. There was no way to make Sirius see differently, especially since he didn't feel that the other man was entirely wrong. "Alright, Sirius. But if she ever brings it up, I'm not going to try to make her hate them more. I just want us to move on."

"Fine," Sirius grumbled. He opened his mouth to see that they weren't going to influence her to hate them less either when Kim started screaming.

* * *

She stopped screaming by the time they ran into her room. Harry had scrambled to the other side of her bed as if he thought she would attack him. Her eyes were blank, and her lips were moving like she was trying to speak but couldn't.

Panicking, Sirius snapped his fingers in her face. "Kimmy? Kimmy!"

 _But Kim was miles away, seeing through the eyes of another. Or at least, she thought she was. There was this woman. And she was talking to this-this_ _ **thing.**_ _Kim didn't know how else to describe it. It was sitting in a chair with its back to her. She couldn't really see him, but instinctually, she thought it wasn't human._

 _"So when are we going after the girl?" the woman asked, almost lazily. "She is well protected, my lord, but she is also incredibly immature. It would be too easy to lead her away."_

 _The creature cackled. "The Ministry will be on high alert during the Quidditch World Cup. Do not let emotion cloud your judgement, Lis."_

 _"I will not let_ _ **her**_ _get in the way of—" As if to calm herself, the dark haired woman put a hand over her face. It was too dark and shadowy to get a good look at her. And yet…Kim couldn't help but think her short hair looked familiar, although her voice was not so familiar. She had no idea who the woman was._

 _The woman- Lis- sighed. "I am sorry, my lord. Dealing with that idiot Bertha Jorkins has put me on edge. I wish I was able to serve you with better patience."_

 _The creature snorted. Or at least, tried. Kim thought it sounded a bit like a wheeze. "Do not pretend to be devoted to me, Lis. I know your true intentions, and while they are pathetic, you do serve me well."_

 _"I will always be loyal to you, my lord," Lis promised. "Yes… I do admit that I want the girl out of the way, but once she's gone? I will_ _ **always**_ _be indebted to you."_

 _"Yes of course you will." The monster sounded like it didn't care either way. Once the woman stopped being useful, he would dispose of her. However he wasn't sure if that would be months from now, or years. "And, lucky for you, that puts you in a position that many would give their right hand for."_

 _"My lord?" she questioned, although she didn't sound very curious. Kim was, almost desperately so. She opened her mouth to try to say something, but it felt like her throat was full of sand. No words would come out._

 _"It doesn't matter, Lis. You'll know before your child comes home from Hogwarts." The creature paused as Kim felt something slither past her. The man, the one who was watching the scene, stilled. There was a jumble of hissing noises before the creature spoke again._

 _"Nagini tells me we have company, Lis," it hissed. "A Muggle, listening to every word we're saying."_

 _Lis sighed as if the Muggle had spilled wine on her favorite shirt. "I'll take care of him, my lord."_

 _The Muggle man was terrified as the woman fully opened the door. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, he was dead before he could register what was happening. There was a flash of green light, and he was gone._

Meanwhile at the cottage, Remus fire called Poppy while Sirius was freaking out, thinking (hoping) that Kim was playing a horrible prank and was trying to put smelly stuff in front of her nose. Harry tried to protest when he put a juice box straw up her nose and squeezed juice in it, but Sirius didn't stop trying to snap her out of it until Poppy and Severus showed up.

"Do you think this is funny, Black?" Severus drawled. "Because this is entirely your and Lupin's fault."

Sirius froze and guiltily put the juice box behind his back. "She-she's pranking us," he insisted, sounding like he was trying to convince himself. "Because… Because…"

"She needs those stupid glasses because of the little reunion you and Lupin put together in June!" Severus snarled. "Did Lupin not tell you about her magic, Black?"

"He-he told me," Sirius mumbled.

"And after what happened today—"

"It was her scar," Harry spoke up. Bravely, Sirius thought, considering how livid Snape was. "She-she kept scratching at it through her bangs. Right before she started screaming."

Poppy, who was running diagnostic spells, nodded. "It isn't her magic. Nothing's wrong with her."

"Nothing wrong with her?" Severus spat. "She's practically catatonic, Poppy!"

"Sirius," Remus whispered. "I think we should allow—"

Black turned red, and for once, Severus didn't blame him for one of his tantrums. "There's no way that old man is going to be allowed near her. Prophecy my arse! It could just as easily be Neville or-or…" He forced himself not to look at the boy. "Who knows how many babies?! Do you think those in the Order were the only ones to defy Him?"

"Prophecy?" Potter asked while Lupin closed his eyes, telling Severus that Black was trying his patience. Severus understood. This was no way to tell the boy.

Black shook his head as if it didn't matter. "Don't worry about it. It isn't true. Who says it's even true?"

Before the boy could press further, Kimberly let out a gasp that nearly made Severus jump.

She was breathing she was sprinting while everyone else was arguing. Her hand was to her scar, and she was looking around frantically like she was trying to make sure she was in fact in her room. Swallowing, she somehow managed to gasp out, "That man! He-he's in trouble!"

After sending a death glare Remus's way, Severus softened. "There is no man, Kimberly. You were hallucinating."

Kim (and everyone else besides Madame Pomfrey) stared at Severus as if he grew another head. Then, her eyes widened, and she puffed up, reminding him of Molly Weasley when she was dealing with her twins. "No! There was a man! He-he was spying on some people, and they hurt him! With that green light you tried to hurt Padfoot with when you thought he was guilty!"

Silence. Well, at least Severus wished there was. Ever so quietly, the immature Black muttered, "I never got to pay you back for that one, Snivellus."

"Sirius," Lupin said tiredly with a shake of her head before turning to Poppy. "Is she alright?"

Madame Pomfrey started to nod even Kim erupted again. Didn't they understand that someone was being hurt?! "It's true! Why would you even think I was hallucinating?—"

"Do you recall the conversation we had after you faced the troll?" Severus interrupted before she could get hysterical. He was sure she didn't want Potter to know. "Lupin's little stunt at the Shrieking Shack damaged your eyes. And I suppose the day's events made you sicker. You're going to have to be medicated now—"

Kim didn't believe him for one second. She wasn't crazy. There was no way she was hallucinating. Although she was sure she looked mad, she frantically pointed at Harry. "No! It was my scar. _He_ saw me messing with it! That man is hurt, and they are hurting someone named Bertha Jorkins too!"

"She's missing," Madame Pomfrey gasped while Severus was trying to figure out where she would have heard that irritating woman's name before. "Albus has been looking for her. The Ministry seems to think nothing of her disappearance."

Severus shot her a look that practically screamed, _Don't encourage her, Poppy!_ However, if her scar was bothering her perhaps it wasn't her magic. If she was indeed having a vision, things had just gone from bad to worse.

"We need to contact the Order," Lupin nearly whispered.

"The what?" Potter asked, infuriatingly curious.

"You are not involving _him_ with this," Black seethed, and then he added hopefully, "Perhaps she's just a Seer. We all knew that Bertha's big mouth was going to get her into trouble one day."

"Hermione says they aren't real," the girl snapped as if that settled matters. Sometimes Severus wondered if Kimberly and Weasley would be capable of graduating if it wasn't for Granger being a stubborn know-it-all. "And don't they see the future? This is happening _now._ "

Remus held up his hands to stop Sirius from blurting out another theory. They had discussed this hours before the last full moon. They only hoped that Voldemort would return later. If Sirius was going to deny that something was going on, it would only leave them ill prepared for the near future. "Who else was there, sweetheart?"

Relieved that someone was finally believing her, Kim opened her mouth to spout out names. As quickly as the relief came, it was gone. She didn't really _know_ anyone. Not even the name of the man they were hurting. "Erhm… This woman named Lis. This… this monster like thing… The man… No one else was there."

"See? She was hallucinating, Lupin," Severus hissed just as Kim perked up. "She has no idea—"

"And a snake!" she yelled. "A really big one. The monster spoke Parseltongue to it. Its name was… Nagini."

Severus felt his blood turn to ice as she waited for him to deny her again. No one else had the pleasure of recognizing the name. He should have believed her when she said her scar was bothering her but giving her a potion would have been easier than starting up the Order of the bloody Phoenix. Finally, he said, "The man is dead, Kimberly. The only way he would survive the Killing Curse would be if the attacker was particularly weak or your age or younger. And Bertha Jorkins most likely is too."

The girl didn't believe him and stared at him with the innocence of a small child. "But—"

Severus ignored her and reluctantly, turned to Lupin. "We need to speak to Albus."

* * *

Black refused to attend the Order meeting the following morning. And all questions for the girl had to go through him first. He was being fiercely protective and wouldn't even let her be stuffed to the brim by Molly. Instead, he conjured mannequins in the cottage's backyard to teach her and Potter about fighting and dueling. Severus thought it was for the best. It would keep Black from having a tantrum at the meeting and the boy interested so he wouldn't try to snoop.

Severus found himself in a foul mood as Order members clogged up the staffroom. Probably because he had dreaded this day ever since he picked up that little brat from Saint Mungo's four years ago. She wasn't ready for this. She was far from ready for this. Tumbling around in the dirt with Black and her brother wasn't going to help her in the slightest!

"Are you alright, Severus?" Albus asked kindly. "You look rather pale."

Severus glared at him. "I find this far from funny, Albus."

Frowning, Albus looked down at all the maps and nearly fifteen year old notes that covered the staff table. No, no it wasn't funny at all. "I really did think I was doing what was best, Severus. I was wrong…"

Severus scoffed as the staffroom started to fill to capacity. They were going to have to find another place, once classes resumed. "And still are. She isn't ready."

Something flashed in the old man's eyes. Determination? Anger? Fear? It was gone before Severus could come to a conclusion. The replacement was warm, grandfatherly kindness as he greeted the Order of the Phoenix. "Welcome back! It would seem… that we have a war to finish."

* * *

After lunch, Blaise and Luna came over, but there was still no sign of Remus. Since this was the first time Kim had heard from Blaise since her birthday party yesterday, she was a little embarrassed that he showed up just in time to see her kicking a mannequin in the head while Sirius and Harry coached her.

"If you're going to do it, you have to do it really quick or they'll grab your leg, Kimmy," Padfoot lectured.

Harry frowned as she growled and kicked the mannequin again. She must still be upset about last night. If she wasn't careful was going to knock its head off soon. "If it was a real person, you might want to go for their arm first. So they can't reach for their wand."

"I usually go for the bits." Panting, Kim finally succeeded in kicking the head off. From behind her, Blaise grinned.

"Sexy." He laughed as she froze and spun around. Sirius shriveled up like someone poured lemon juice in his mouth.

She should laugh or yell at him or say something! Instead, Kim just stared at him in complete horror. Her face was sure to be red, and her hair was probably plastered to it since she, Sirius, and Harry had been at this all day. All she could say was the first thing that came to mind, which in her opinion was one of the worst things she could have said. "I have to go inside. I smell."

Blaise grinned and shrugged. "You always smell."

"WHAT?!"

Harry didn't know what to do as Kim started freaking out and talking a mile a minute about how she _never_ smelled while Sirius was trying to butt in and tell her that Blaise was rude and should go home. Meanwhile Blaise decided it was high time to tell everyone about the infected flea bites on Sirius's back. The blonde girl who arrived with Blaise was smiling as if all was right with the world.

"My name's Luna." Her voice was naturally soft, so Harry had to strain his ears to hear her over the bickering.

"Harry." He blushed and wanted to kick himself. Everyone knew who he was. It was in the stupid paper for Merlin's sake! "You probably already knew that…"

Luna smiled as if she thought he was being silly. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your birthday party. My father and I were looking for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Time flies when you're looking for them."

"A what?" Harry figured she was talking about some kind of dragon, but dragons aren't exactly hard to find.

Harry tried to listen and tune the rest out as she started to explain. It was proving rather difficult with Kim trying and failing to hex Sirius with the new spells he taught her. He jumped away, pointing at Blaise and threatening him if he so much as held Kim's hand. Blaise smirked as Sirius tripped over a rock while trying to dodge one of Kim's hexes.

"You don't have to worry," Luna said dreamily once she realized how distracted he was. "She'll be alright. And so will Sirius. In fact, almost everyone will be."

"Almost?" Harry bit his lip, alarmed by how far away Luna's eyes were. Hopefully _she_ wasn't going to have a vision too.

Thankfully, Luna returned to their world with a smile. "The next few years will be hard. But you already knew that, didn't you Harry?"

Harry glanced at Kim, who laughed triumphantly at Sirius and marched off to take a shower. Remus explained as much about Voldemort as he could before the Order meeting. He knew about the past, how his parents died. What he didn't know was that Voldemort was still alive and doing his best to become as powerful as he once was. He sighed. "Yes. I knew."

* * *

After hours of trying to figure out who 'Lis' was, where Voldemort could be, and what he was planning, Remus simply wanted to take a few bites of whatever Sirius picked up for supper, take a hot shower, and go to bed. Unfortunately, he had to deal with Padfoot scowling out the window. His old friend shook his head. "The nerve of that boy."

Not sure he wanted to know, Remus yawned and took a look at what was bothering Sirius this time. Harry and Luna were on the other side of the backyard catching lightning bugs while Blaise and Kim were whispering to each other on the worn wooden table. Since they weren't so far apart that they had to shout at each other, Remus figured they were the problem. "Be nice, Sirius. From what I recall, he's the reason you weren't skin and bones when your name was cleared."

Sirius stuck his nose in the air. "Luna helped too."

"Right." They were awfully close. Remus desperately wanted to go hide in his room but had a feeling he had to keep Sirius talking for poor Blaise's safety. "She likes him, Padfoot. And she's comfortable with telling him if something's bothering her, even if he tells her she's in the wrong."

Sirius wasn't buying it. He narrowed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "But I told him! He isn't even afraid of me, Moony."

He didn't want to know. He most certainly did _not_ want to know. Groaning, Remus asked, "What are you talking about Padfoot?"

Sirius rolled his eyes like Remus was the one who was being ridiculous. "Months ago! I talked to him about this months ago!"

 _It was a particularly cold night, and Sirius was trying to show Blaise how to cast a warming charm that would last in the Shrieking Shack at least until morning. Sirius shivered and rubbed at his skinny arms. Luna was much better at Charms._

 _"So how's Kimmy?" he asked while Blaise stared at an old Charms textbook. He had to distract himself before his teeth started chattering._

 _Blaise turned the page. Once he found the charm, he pointed his wand at the ceiling and proudly cast, "_ Calor Die Dimidium! _There. It should last for twelve hours now."_

 _"Yeah. Should." Still, Sirius relaxed under the warmth. "How's Kimmy?" he repeated. "You better not be dating her. Luna would tell me."_

 _Annoyed, Blaise folded his arms over his chest. "So what if I was? You need me, Sirius. If not for me, you'd be a half starved popsicle right now."_

 _"I won't be on the run forever."_ Hopefully, _he added in his head. "And you'd really let me freeze to death and go hungry because I don't want you dating my goddaughter?"_

 _Blaise blinked at him like it was a silly question, reminding Sirius that he was a Slytherin. Then, since Sirius was at his mercy, he grinned evilly. "Vector always has to separate us for passing notes. The last one she gave me, she drew a big heart next to her name."_

 _Sirius's eyes popped out of his head, and he gaped like an idiot. By the way he was acting, one would think Kim had flashed Blaise, instead of drawing an innocent heart. "You-you leave her alone! She's too young to like boys! And I have to tell her what your kind is capable of!"_

 _"My kind?" Blaise put a hand over his heart and pretended to be offended. "You mean a Slytherin? Because—"_

 _"No!" Sirius spat. "A boy! You all are the same. You can't keep your hands to yourselves and tell your little friends all about it! Not caring what a girl's so called friends say behind their backs!"_

 _Blaise forced himself to frown, but it quickly twitched into a smile. "What kind of third year were you? Wait until Kim hears that you were a pervert who couldn't keep his hands to himself."_

 _"I-I… That's beside the point!" Sirius stammered. "And I didn't have a girlfriend until my seventh year."_

 _Blaise chuckled. "Liar."_

 _Fed up, Sirius jabbed a finger at Blaise's chest. "You leave Kimmy alone. You can put in an application and possibly take her on a supervised date on her twenty fifth birthday."_

 _But Blaise was hardly listening. "I've never had a girlfriend before. So I'm kind of nervous about it, you know?"_

 _If only James was here. He would know how to send the boy off crying. Sirius puffed out his nearly skeletal chest. "You'll have to go through me first!"_

 _Blaise stared for a moment before continuing to confide in him. "Plus, you'd have to be braindead to know Draco isn't_ _ **obsessed**_ _with her. So that makes me even more hesitant. He was my first friend."_

 _"You aren't dating her!" Sirius yelled. "No one is!"_

 _Blaise ignored him and went on talking to Sirius like he was the father he never had. Sirius wanted to explode, but like Blaise said, there's nothing he could do. Not yet anyway._

"So we have to watch him like a hawk," Sirius finished, sounding totally paranoid in Remus's opinion. They were fourteen!

Thinking Sirius had more self-control, Remus teased him and pointed out the window. "Well, you're doing a stellar job, Padfoot."

Not knowing what he was talking about, Sirius whipped back over to the wall to see Blaise kissing Kim. With a yell, he whipped out his wand and ran out the back door before Remus could stop him.

* * *

While Sirius was glaring at them through the window, Kim whispered to Blaise, "Ginny told me to tell you that I'm not a harlot."

Snickering, Blaise leaned closer so he could properly hear her. "I know that, but why are we whispering?"

Kim glanced suspiciously at the window she knew Sirius was peeking through. "Because Padfoot has dog ears to go along with his dog breath."

Blaise turned to the window and waved obnoxiously. "I just get jealous. My mum says I get it from my dad."

"I like your mum. She's one of the sweetest people I ever meant." For some reason, Blaise found that rather funny and quickly disguised his laugh with a cough. Kim wrinkled her nose cutely. Severus acted like Blaise's mum was the anti-Christ. "Anyway, Ginny says I should kiss you before you leave if you don't kiss me first."

Eyes twinkling with laughter, Blaise asked, "Do you listen to everything Ginny tells you?"

Giggling, Kim shook her head. "No! I just like to embarrass her by telling other people when she says stuff like that. The next time I get caught, she said she'll hex my boogers!"

"I'm telling her," Blaise said, deadpanned. He snorted when her eyes widened. "But you don't have to worry about kissing me first. I'll kiss you. If you agree to be my girlfriend?"

Almost instantly, Kim felt like her heart had jumped in her throat. She could do this. She was brave when after she had that vision now wasn't she? With all her Gryffindor courage (although Ron would call her a Hufflepuff later), she bobbed her head up and down.

With one last wave to Sirius, Blaise leaned kissed her softly. Almost relieved, Kim kissed him back and actually got a few good seconds in before Padfoot burst out the back door and started conjured cold water at them. Kim shrieked and started screaming at Sirius while Blaise sighed happily and smiled.

Remus was fumbling with an embarrassed apology while having to grab Kim who tried to launch herself at Sirius. Dripping wet and freezing, Blaise didn't care. This was the start of something great.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Next up, Kim vs Crouch Junior, and we meet Harry's mom! She comes off as snooty, but you'll see she's not that bad! :) Please review!**


	5. Stealing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you LilyEvansDouble and Emarye for reviewing!**

Chapter 5 Stealing

Kim was hoping that Harry's mother was going to be like Mrs. Malfoy, someone no one dared to mess with but someone who was also kind. Unfortunately, she was the snootiest person Kim had ever met.

From the moment she flooed in, she had a look about her face that told Kim she thought the cottage smelled. She looked about the parlor as if it was covered in dirt even though Remus got up two hours early to make sure the place was spotless. Then she started looking about, and Harry explained later that she was looking for a house elf to command.

"M-Mary." Remus smiled nervously in greeting. Sirius was lurking in the background with a permanent scowl on his face. "Can I-can I get you something?"

"Sherry." Her voice was flat, like she thought he was rude for taking all of two minutes to offer. Something about her was just… guarded, Kim supposed the best word was.

Remus seldom swore, but at that moment, he clearly wanted to. "Actually… I-Sirius and I don't keep liquor in the house. What with two teenagers and all…"

Mary stared as if she didn't know what he was trying to say. "Do you even have a house elf? Harry's had a house elf since he came to live with us." Harry, who had yet to say a word, blushed to the roots of his hair.

"No." Remus closed his eyes when Sirius mumbled something under his breath. No one else heard whatever the insult to Harry's mother was, but he obviously did. "I never, ah, needed one."

Again, Mary looked about the house in distaste. "Yes. Such a small… house wouldn't need one."

"Well Harry likes it here!" Sirius snapped before he could stop himself. "Say whatever you like. It doesn't change the fact that he likes living with us way more than he does with you!"

Remus clenched his fists as if he wanted to strangle Sirius. How the hell did he expect her to let Harry stay with them now? It was like Sirius constantly spoke without a filter. Couldn't he control himself for one day? She wasn't Walburga!

Things only went from bad to worse when Mary's dark green eyes flickered to Kim. "So. You're the little wild animal who paralyzed my husband."

Kim's eyes widened as Remus grabbed the back of Sirius's shirt to keep him from rounding on the woman. "I, er, I'm sorry but… I mean, I didn't mean it and…"

To Kim's shock, Marry shrugged like it was no big deal, like she said it more to hurt her than to defend her husband. "Let's be honest. No one really cares. Not even his own brother. You probably saved a few lives anyway. Did Harry tell you? Russ is a werewolf hunter."

A heavy silence crashed into the entire sitting room. Remus's shoulders slumped and he let go of Sirius's shirt, causing him to nearly fall headfirst into the coffee table. Kim didn't know what to think. She never heard of werewolf hunters before. Harry never mentioned it. Remus didn't either. He was probably too ashamed, after what happened.

"Mom!" Harry growled, both humiliated and furious. Since she hadn't seen him upset since she met him, Kim forgot that Harry was even capable of anger. "You promised."

Her face turn red, like she wanted to explode with anger, but as quickly as it came, she calmed down, catching herself. "I'm sorry… I-I miss you. Sometimes I feel like you just dropped everything and left."

Harry looked away. He clenched his jaw like he was trying to force himself to calm down too. "You know I was thinking about it for a year. I… Sometimes I wish I didn't like it here better. I do miss home but…"

"You'll come home for Christmas, right?" Harry's mother asked, although Kim thought it sounded a little like begging. She couldn't help but feel like she was intruding and couldn't give them privacy without drawing attention to herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sirius opening his mouth like he wanted to object, but Remus silenced him by squeezing his arm.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I… I was planning to. I'm sorry I didn't write to you on my birthday."

Mary smiled sadly, like it crushed her, but she didn't want him to know. "Don't worry about it. You'll have plenty of other birthdays to write to me about."

Again, Harry nodded. Mary's bottle green eyes slid to Sirius. She swallowed, looking like she had to force herself to speak. "I'll sign whatever you want. I-But I just want to see my boy once and a while."

"Sure. I mean…" Sirius cleared his throat, probably already feeling guilty. "You aren't as horrible as I originally thought…"

"Sirius!" Remus yelled in exasperation. He turned to Mary to quickly try to stammer out an apology.

Mary shook her head. Kim saw that her eyes were a little watery. "Don't worry about it, Remus. That deranged creampuff Dolores told me he was on the verge of a psychotic break while you were borderline feral. So you aren't as horrible as I originally thought… Even though you did steal my son."

"What about me?" Kim asked to try to lighten the mood. However the moment the words tumbled out of her mouth she couldn't help but feel extremely awkward. Well no one else was saying anything!

The woman looked at her as if she saw Kim for the first time. "You? I don't know what to make of you. A tiny firecracker powered by sugar comes to mind though."

Harry turned bright red, telling Kim that that was the description he wrote to his mother about her. She pouted. His portrayal almost sounded like it could be said by Severus.

Mary ruffled Harry's hair, hugged him tightly, whispered a goodbye, and left without another word. The way she left compared to the way she was when she showed up was almost startling. No one spoke.

Finally, Kim asked shyly, "Do you wanna blow up that dinosaur now?"

Still unnerved, Harry looked at her as if she was nuts. After a moment, he nodded, and they darted to her room before heading outside.

* * *

Sirius was in a foul mood after that. Kim would often hear him muttering the name 'Walburga' under his breath. However, once they were ready to go to the World Cup, he brightened up once again, but it was short lived. Like a disappointed child, he sulked when he soon realized it was the day after the full moon and that Remus was too sick to go with them. Severus was going to be stopping by to make sure he had the proper potions.

They took a portkey, which Kim decided she liked less than apparition, and set up a tent that was a short walk from the Weasleys'. Hermione found her first, and Kim literally had to bite her tongue when Harry nearly ran into the tent at the sight of her. If Ginny knew, she'd kill Hermione.

"Hermione!" Kim hugged her until her best friend started squirming. Then she asked with deadly seriousness, "What'd you get me for my birthday? You missed it, you know."

Although it was difficult, Hermione tried her best to remain stern. "You forgot my birthday last year and gave me a library book."

Kim did her best to give her friend puppy eyes. "And I told you I'd take full responsibility if you kept it!"

Hermione shook her head and held out a wrapped book. When Kim tried to snatch it out of her hands, she yanked her arm back with a smile. Her eyes flickered to the tent. "You're being nicer, right?"

Kim bobbed her head up and down. "We blew up a dinosaur the other day, _and_ I helped him with his homework, _and_ he helped me with mine. I'm the best sister ever!"

"You're something alright," Hermione muttered before finally relinquishing the present. Kim grabbed it and started running around with it, trying to get Hermione to chase her to get it back. She called out, "And it's for the both of you!"

It was a history book about the Potter family, published a few years after her parents died. She finally opened it while Draco was in the kitchen of the tent, telling Harry about Pansy's obsession with _Witch Weekly_ that was getting on his nerves. He stopped, much to Kim's dismay, when he saw her holding the book back to read the cover. She didn't want anyone to see her glasses until school, when she had no choice but to wear them.

For a few minutes, Kim stared at the cover, which had a beautiful tree with tiny names written on it. Most of the people on the cover were dead. Only Harry and herself, who were all the way at the bottom, were alive.

Pretending to be annoyed instead of sad, Kim shoved the book at Harry. "You like to read more than me."

Draco stared as she ran off to find the Weasleys and Granger. "What's up with her?"

Since he had a feeling, Harry changed the subject. "I was adopted the other day. So now we're second cousins."

He meant it conversationally, but that didn't stop Sirius from yelling out from wherever he was, "And that means you're related to Kimmy, Malfoy! Remember that!"

Mortified, Harry tried to change the subject again and started leafing quickly through the book. Draco had a funny look on his face like he was mildly disgusted. Great.

* * *

Right before the match started, Draco noticed Harry squirming under the Weasel's death glare, but before he could say something, Kim waltzed over and sat on him. The Weasel started hollering as if an elephant sat on him instead.

Kim wiggled as if trying to make herself comfortable. "Padfoot said the tub of popcorn I ate for dinner was bigger than me! Can you tell? Am I heavier than the last time I sat on you?"

"ARG! No! It's hard to tell with your bony arse nearly piercing the skin on my legs!" The Weasel tried to shove her off, not noticing that Granger was glaring almost hatefully at Kim. Harry noticed, however, and looked at his shoes. Draco rolled his eyes. At least he wasn't like Blaise, who couldn't stop talking about Kim. If he had to hear about someone finding Granger attractive, he might throw up.

"Do you always have to act so in appropriate?" Granger hissed, only calming down when the Weaselette squeezed her arm in understanding.

Kim frowned, but by the time she looked at Granger, the anger was gone. "Yes…"

Granger narrowed her eyes but decided to drop it. "At least get off before Sirius comes. You know how he gets with you and boys."

Kim sighed dramatically but hopped off the Weasel. "Yeah. Me and Ron are going to get married and have lots of babies. So I guess he has every right to worry."

She was only joking, and Granger should have known when the Weasel said he'd sooner marry McGonagall, leading to Kim pretending to cry. But she didn't, and the Mudblood stared straight ahead the entire game. Draco almost laughed. Jealousy can even make that know-it-all Granger act like an idiot.

* * *

Kim was half asleep when it happened. She sat up with a start, feeling like she needed to shake the dream of Viktor Krum saving Hermione from her grumpiness by sweeping her off her feet. It was the start of a good dream too. She and Ron were eating popcorn, and Ginny and Harry's brooms were getting married while Sirius was getting beat up by a bunch of Veelas.

She was just barely opening her eyes when Sirius ran in and shook her. "Get up! There… There's a fire! I need you to run into the nearby woods while it's being put out!"

Before she could fully comprehend what he said, Sirius darted off to tell Harry to leave everything in the tent. She blinked sleepily and grabbed her wand, not completely waking up until they were outside, and she could hear the screaming.

There were a pack of wizards dressed as the Grim Reaper marching around and setting fires. They were laughing and pointing at struggling figures that were floating above the fires. Kim never saw anything like it.

"I said go!" Sirius screamed once he spotted her and Harry. His eyes were bulging out of his head as he pointed to the nearby cluster of trees. "GO!"

Harry started running, so Kim did the same, constantly looking over her shoulder to see if Sirius was following. He wasn't.

They were both fast, so they reached the trees soon enough. Kim looked back one more time. Sirius was nowhere in sight, and the fires only seemed brighter to her. He would be fine. He _had_ to be. Sirius wouldn't let himself get killed when he had a family, would he?

"They're torturing the Muggles… Draco's dad's probably out there," Harry panted, sounding like he was talking to himself. "I bet he's out there."

Since Mr. Malfoy gave her Tom Riddle's diary two short years ago, Kim didn't know how to convince him otherwise or if she should. She knew she should say something like Draco's not his dad but couldn't bring herself to do it. It wouldn't be too surprising if someone died. She felt guilty for hoping it wasn't someone she knew.

They continued walking in the woods in silence. After a while, Kim started to hear Ron and Hermione calling her name, but she ignored them. She was too worried about Sirius to hear Hermione's textbook definition of the Grim Reaper men or Ron's theory of whatever they were trying to do.

"There you are." Draco. He sounded worried, but Kim was too scared to believe him. If Harry was right, his dad could be out there, hurting Sirius. He looked down and paled. "What-what happened to your feet?"

It took Kim a moment to realize he was talking to her. With Sirius's panic, she had forgotten to put shoes on. They were so bloody… Hopefully it looked worse than it was. She shrugged despite the fact that now that he mentioned it, her feet hurt like hell.

"You should have told me." Ever the gentlemen, Harry started taken his shoes off to give her. She wondered how he could be so calm, how he could be wondering about Draco's dad the one minute and be standing with Draco the next like nothing was happened.

Kim shook her head and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Remus taught me a charm for paper cuts. Maybe it'll help."

Draco snorted, sounding like he thought she was being stupid. "You _shredded_ your feet." He took out his own wand. "I know how to—"

"No! I…" Kim bit her lip. By the look on Draco's face, he was starting to catch on to why she was acting so weird. She tried to focus on finding her own wand. Her pajama pockets weren't _that_ deep. When it was clear her wand wasn't in them, she felt a lump form in her throat. "My wand's gone!"

"Are you sure you didn't leave it in the tent?" Harry had a small smile on his face, like he thought it was something she would do, and he was teasing her about it. Kim narrowed her eyes. No! She most certainly would not… Okay, maybe she would. But this time she knew she didn't forget it!

Remus took her to get that wand. That day was one of the best memories she had with him. She had to find it.

Ignoring the pain in her feet, she tore past them. Kim heard them calling out for her, but she didn't care. Sirius running around in the fire, she lost her wand, and she had no idea what was going on. She might not be able to help Sirius but searching for her wand was one thing she could do.

After a couple of minutes, Harry and Draco's voices became distant. Kim slowed to a walk, trying to scan among the twigs for her wand. If it was just Harry, she won't have zipped away as fast as she could. Draco's dad didn't like Muggles and neither did Draco. He probably thought this was funny.

Breathless, she skidded to a halt when she spotted a man at the other side of the trees. He was pointing a wand at the sky. She didn't know how, but she could just _tell_ it was hers.

 _"MORSMORDRE!"_

A giant green skull with a snake shot out of his wand and hung in the sky. The high pitched sound of a terrified whimper made Kim tear her eyes away from it. There was a house elf tugging on the man's sleeve. He hit her in the face so hard that her head snapped back and barked at her to go hide in the forest. She started hitting herself, and the man swore and pointed the wand at her.

He was using _her_ wand to hurt people, hurt people like Draco's dad. Kim stared for a split second more before she charged after him. "GIVE ME BACK MY WAND!"

It was a stupid thing to do. She knew that as she tackled him to the ground and tried to take her wand back by force. He wasn't one of Sirius's mannequins, and the only reason she was able to knock him over was because she caught him by surprise. They struggled on the ground a bit, and Kim kicked and scratched like her life depended on it. Right when she got a grip on her wand, he punched her in the face and knocked her unconscious.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Harry's mom started off mean because she loves him but knew that he was better off where he's happiest. I don't think it's easy doing something so selfless. Next up, Harry's sorting! :) Please review!**


	6. Scaring

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you Emarye, lizziecats, and LilyEvansDouble for reviewing!**

 **Emarye: I guess freedom was just too much for him to handle! :P**

Chapter 6 Scaring

Once Sirius saw the Dark Mark, he gave up on putting out the fires and ran off to find Kimmy and Harry. He hadn't seen the Dark Mark since Lily and James died. It was the worst day of his life, and he knew he couldn't handle another repeat. He had to find them.

Harry was easy enough to find. He was with Malfoy and screaming Kimmy's name at the top of his lungs. Sirius distantly heard the Weasley children doing the same.

"Did you find her?" Harry flinched as if he thought he was at fault.

"Did you two get separated?" he asked gently, though his heart was threatening to pound through his chest. The woods weren't that big. How could they lose each other?

Malfoy shook his head. "She's stupid. She lost her wand and ran off to look for it."

"I think it's stupid to play dress up and terrorize Muggles for sport!" Harry snapped. "Especially when you're over twelve!"

"My dad isn't out there!" Malfoy shot back, but he turned pink and looked at the ground, clearly lying. "She-she can always get a new wand."

Sirius gritted his teeth and started stomping through the forest. Remus thought Malfoy's affection for Kimmy was cute, but it only put Sirius on edge. Lucius was a Death Eater, and Narcissa would stick by him unless she thought Draco was in danger. If the Malfoy patriarch hurt one hair on Kimmy's head…

It took them fifteen minutes to find her, and that was only when Sirius dared to go near the Dark Mark. When he saw her lying on the ground under the Mark like that, it was like time had stopped and sent him back to 1981. She looked just like Lily.

Aurors were starting to surround her. Without a second though, Sirius roughly pushed past them and picked Kimmy up by her shoulders. When she didn't wake up, he shook her. "Wake up, Kimmy! WAKE UP!"

Almost sleepily, Kim opened her eyes as she felt her head bob up and down. Once she remembered what was going on, she started flailing.

"Shh…" Sirius squeezed her shoulders. Now that he realized she wasn't dead like Lily, he was trying to calm down, but the efforts made him feel a little light headed. "What happened Kimmy?"

Confused, Kim's eyes darted around. Where was the man and the house elf? Her thoughts were too jumbled from getting hit in the face to say anything that made sense. "The snake man…"

She was obviously talking about the Dark Mark, Sirius thought as he tried to help her up. When Barty Crouch Sr. started to speak, however, it was rather difficult not to let her fall to send a few hexes the old bastard's way.

"See! She cast it," he bellowed, pointed at the damned Mark. "Don't deny Black! She has a reputation—"

"For lying, yeah," Sirius spat as Kimmy tried to struggle out of his grasp. "But if you think for one second she would do that to Lily and James—"

"For lying, promiscuity, and running away!" Crouch seemed to be having a field day, ready to explode describing someone who didn't follow his precious rules. He was starting to get flustered and even a little sweaty with excitement. "Not to mention allowing herself to be ensorcelled by a Dark magical object that could have killed a significant number of the Hogwarts student body! I don't think she is above casting the Dark Mark while intoxicated."

"Kimmy wasn't drinking!" Sirius was practically screaming now. He let go of Kim and started waving his hands in the air. She found herself slowly slinking away towards Harry and Draco. She could feel Draco staring at her but tried to look straight ahead as Sirius defended her. "She didn't do this!"

Eyes bulging, Crouch pointed at Kim's wand, which she was clutching as if her life depended on it. "Then prove it! Show us the last spell she cast!"

Crouch and all the aurors were watching expectantly. A few minutes later, the Weasleys and Hermione showed up, fearfully silent under the Dark Mark. Kim didn't know what it meant, but if everyone was making a big deal about it, it couldn't be good. And that man used her wand to conjure it.

"Like hell I will!" Sirius spat. "Someone knocked her out! Look how swollen her cheek is! I will not have you pin this on her!"

"I can get a warrant," Crouch insisted, although the aurors already looked uncomfortable at the idea. Not many wanted to believe that the Girl Who Lived would cast the Dark Mark. He was all talk and wouldn't be able to get it. Fudge would never allow it. Still, Sirius tensed, remembering the trial Crouch denied him.

Harry opened his mouth to say that Kim had lost her wand and had obviously found someone else using it, but Sirius was too scared to take any chances. He grabbed his hand along with Kim's and apparated away.

* * *

"Lupin. LUPIN! Wake up!"

Startled, Remus snapped his eyes open to find that it was still dark. Just as his eyes started adjusting to the darkness, Severus magically lit up the room, causing the werewolf to flinch. The dour man was pacing, telling Remus that something was up.

Severus wasted no time telling him. "Your mutt is an idiot."

Silently thanking Merlin that he went to bed with a shirt on, Remus glanced at the clock. It was barely three in the morning. "Severus… Sirius is at the game." Then, thinking that Sirius had done something stupid, he groaned. "He didn't let them try firewhiskey, did he?"

"He sent me a Patronus," Severus seethed, sounding like Sirius sent him a flaming bag of dog poo instead. "That he was at St. Mungo's and not to worry."

Remus felt himself pale but tried to remain optimistic. "If Sirius says not to worry, there's nothing to worry about. Trust me. He can be rather melodramatic."

Something flickered in Severus's eyes. It took four years for Remus to recognize it as fear. He was too afraid of what he'd find at Saint Mungo's. "There was an emergency edition of _The Prophet._ There-A group of idiots decided to put on their masks. Death Eaters. They lit tents on fire and attacked the Muggles that owned the campsite. And… Someone cast the Dark Mark."

Remus felt his blood run cold. But that meant… "No."

Severus didn't say anything. The girl wasn't dead. The press would be having a field day if anyone so much as _believed_ she was. However no one cast the Dark Mark without good reason. No loyal Death Eater would dare disrespect the Dark Lord in such a way, and everyone else was too afraid.

"We're back!" Black yelled before Remus could try to press Severus further. When he heard Kim started to bicker with him, relief washed over them.

"Put me down, Padfoot!" Kim kicked her feet as Severus rushed into the parlor and Remus hobbled behind them. Her feet were pretty cut up, but the healers put bags on them to try to keep the salve on.

Harry grinned at Remus while Sirius threw Kim on the couch and said she deserved all the embarrassment she got. "Someone stole her wand. She found him and thought she could win in a fist fight with an armed, full grown man. Oh and she ran in the woods without shoes."

"I knocked him to the ground!" Kim yelled, shrinking when she locked eyes with Severus. He was starting to get mad…

Remus sensed this too, and by how afraid Severus was, he understood, but Kim didn't. From the looks of things, Sirius didn't have time to tell her about the Dark Mark. "Kim, you can always get another wand. Try not to take risks like that again."

"But…" Kim faltered as she felt the anger coming off Severus in black waves. She knew it was stupid to go after her wand, but she also didn't want to admit it. She didn't have the slightest clue where Sirius was and finding her wand felt like the only thing she could do.

"But the Dark Mark is a symbol used by Death Eaters… Voldemort's followers and Voldemort to signify that they killed someone." Sirius laughed bitterly. He was angry with her, obviously. The only one who didn't seem to be was Harry. "And those men were dressed as Death Eaters. So when I saw you laying there like that…"

"I'm sorry," Kim forced herself to say. "But you—"

"But nothing," Severus growled. "Despite the fact that he acts like a five year old, Black is a fully trained wizard. You are not."

Ever the brat, Kim rolled her eyes. Did she say she was? "I didn't think—"

"You seldom do," Severus drawled. "Kimberly, decisions like this can lead to people dying. All it takes is one rash, stupid decision and people you care about will be gone forever."

"Yeah well—Ug!" Thinking he was exaggerating, Kim huffed and jumped off the couch. Her feet made a squishy sound as she walked, and she slammed her door before they could say a word.

Remus finally spoke. "She doesn't understand." He thought Severus was being too harsh but didn't know what else could be said. Things were escalating rather quickly. "She was only a baby during the War. How can you expect her to grasp what it means to us?"

"I expect her to understand that her actions have consequences," Severus snapped.

Sirius glanced at Harry, who was looking more uncomfortable by the minute. Hopefully he wasn't already regretting wanting to stay with them permanently. "Harry? Can you take one for the team and listen to Kimmy complain about us for a while? I'll make whatever you want for breakfast… Well, I'll probably burn it. Remus'll make whatever you want for breakfast."

"Right." Harry smiled, happy to leave even though he was full of what had to be a hundred questions. Whatever the problem was, he didn't want to deal with it, especially since Professor Snape was here.

Sirius waited for him to shut Kim's door and to hear the muffled sound of his goddaughter ranting to speak. He couldn't believe he had to confide in Snape. "So… When you said that thing about the glasses… and you thought she was hallucinating…"

"She wasn't." Severus narrowed his eyes. "However, children who used to suppress their magic face certain… difficulties when it comes out from in bursts like that. She could go blind… or insane. There are books on the subject, but they are a few decades old. This was more of a problem when muggleborns were thought to be possessed or back when witches were burned."

Sirius stared at Kim's door. He heard her tell Harry that Severus drank baby blood, which most certainly meant she wasn't listening. "I thought she was talking about the Dark Mark, but when I asked her who cast it while the healer at Saint Mungo's was getting the splinters out of her feet… She insisted it was 'the Snake Man.' And I know she was hit in the head, but I could tell she really believed the man had a snake tongue."

Lupin paled, but Severus didn't think she was hallucinating. Her description sounded familiar, actually. The name and face was so close, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "No. I-Black someone hit her and ran off, I'm guessing? The last thing she saw before passing out was probably the Dark Mark."

"The healer said she was fine," Black muttered, trying to convince himself.

Severus sighed. Although the incident at the Shrieking Shack was a big setback, Poppy said Kimberly was growing out of it. However this was new to Black, so it wasn't going to be far from his mind. "Forget it, Black. We're going to have to have another Order meeting."

* * *

The next day, Kim was still a little mad at Severus, until Remus glared at her and said they were going to have a long talk about what happened. She pouted for a while until she realized why this talk wasn't happening immediately. Professor Dumbledore was coming over for lunch so Harry wouldn't have to get sorted with the first years.

"I don't know why you don't want to be sorted with everyone else!" Kim chattered over breakfast while Sirius was wolfing down bacon like a starving man. "You'll be the tallest one in the group!"

"That's a rare opportunity for you isn't it?" Harry said quietly, clearly starting to get nervous.

Kim wrinkled her nose while Remus chuckled. She was almost close to average height! "Anyway…" She straightened up to do her best Professor McGonagall impression. "You're house is like your family…" Frowning, she suddenly realized that was the only part of the speech she knew word for word. "They're like your adoptive family. But you're stuck with them. Even if they snore or wear too much lip gloss. _And_ they get mad at you when you lose points. It's not my fault I lose like a million every week!"

Remus smiled into his coffee. "No. It's not your fault you get into so much trouble."

Kim threw her hands up in the air and pretended Remus wasn't being sarcastic. "Thank you." Then, she looked to Harry, thinking he was worried that she wouldn't be too nice if he got into Slytherin. "And I was almost put in Slytherin. The Hat said I would be good in all the houses, but then he slowly realized how amazing I am and decided the only place for me was Gryffindor."

Harry stared. Sometimes he couldn't be sure if she was being serious or not. Whenever he thought she wasn't, she actually was. What she said translated to him: The Hat slowly realized my faults and figured Gryffindor was the only place I would fit in. "O-okay."

"And besides…" Kim paused, waiting for Sirius to shove a whole slice of bacon in his mouth. Time for payback for what he did to Blaise not too long ago. "I'm having sex with a Slytherin anyway."

As she had hoped, Sirius immediately started choking, and Remus had to jump out of his seat and roughly thump him on the back. He knew Kim was joking but had to pray to Merlin that Sirius also knew. If she thought Severus was bad…

* * *

Although he had to hope she didn't just say it to make Sirius choke, Harry felt somewhat better after Kim said that she would be alright with him being in Slytherin. He sort of felt trapped. Everyone at school would expect him to be in Slytherin, but he was sure the press would still go crazy over it. However if he asked the Sorting Hat to put him in Gryffindor, he would be surrounded by people who didn't like or trust him. He didn't know any Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs, which, in its own way, was worse. In Gryffindor, he had a feeling he would only cause arguments between Kim and Ron.

Slytherin was the best option. Once the excitement died down, the only problem would be Professor Snape. Harry didn't like him too much but was glad that they mostly ignored each other. And the birthday present was a nice gesture.

Speaking of the devil, Professor Snape was the one to arrive with the Sorting Hat instead of the headmaster. He wore his usual scowl, which only deepened when Kim narrowed her eyes at him. He ignored her and turned to Sirius. "You forgot to allow Albus in for the day, Black."

Sirius smiled with false cheer. "Why would I want him around when I have you, Snivellus?" Remus immediately smacked him on the back of the head, but Sirius laughed anyway. That is until Severus spoke up.

"You do realize, Black, that the boy is going to beg the Hat to be placed in my House," he drawled. "I believe that it is in his best interest that you show more _respect._ "

Sirius tensed, not realizing that it only made Harry more nervous. First that slime ball stole Kimmy, and now he was going to steal Harry too! "Harry is a Potter. He isn't a snake."

"Sirius," Remus stepped in. Harry was his godson, and he owed it to Lily and James to make sure Sirius didn't inadvertently bully him into a House he would be miserable in. "You are a Black. Do you want to go down that road?"

Furious, Sirius glared at Remus as if he had called him a foul name instead of his own. "Harry isn't like them! He isn't sneaky. He isn't cruel. He's _good._ "

"He was resourceful enough to figure out how to come here when he wasn't happy at home. He sticks up for himself but doesn't pick a fight just because his ego is threatened. And you didn't mind that he was 'sneaky' when he forged a letter to meet me," Remus snapped, but when he saw how shocked his friend was, he softened. "You're cousin Andromeda was in Slytherin, Sirius, and she's your favorite. Don't do this to Harry."

What Sirius wanted to say was, _What happened to you?_ But he knew Remus, or at least, he thought he did. He would respond with something like, _I grew up._ Sirius didn't want to go there, so instead, he settled for gaping like an idiot.

He couldn't believe that Remus was advocating for his godson to be placed in Slytherin. He would never want that for Kimmy. It was pretty much surrounding her with Dark witches and wizards in the making. What had changed his attitude? Sirius could only think of one person.

Before stomping to his new bedroom in the basement, Sirius sneered at Snape. "Why don't you show Kimmy your right arm?"

Kim stared and jumped when Sirius slammed the basement door. Sirius didn't seem mind them talking about Slytherin at breakfast. She had a feeling that if Professor Dumbledore was here instead of Severus, that things would have gone a lot better.

Severus smirked. "I hope it doesn't take him twelve years to catch up to the rest of us."

"And I hope you didn't bring up Slytherin on purpose, Severus," Remus said tiredly. He most certainly knew that the Potions master did but didn't want to start another fight over it.

Severus rolled his eyes and thrust the Hat at Harry. "Just put it on your head."

Harry shook his head frantically. It was probably best for him to wait until September. Then he could decide which was better, the House he wanted or the House that would earn him Sirius's approval.

Silently, Remus pulled him to the side, sighing when Kim took the opportunity to start arguing with Severus. At least that meant they weren't listening.

"I'll deal with Sirius," he promised. "He's jealous because Kim calls Severus her dad. Is he prejudice towards Slytherin? Yes. But that isn't your problem. It's his. He'll act like a child for a while, but he loves you and knows what it's like to be treated poorly. His mother threw a fit when he was placed in Gryffindor."

Harry almost insisted that he wanted to wait until September but decided against it. Remus was right, and he wasn't about to be miserable at school to make Sirius happy. Too nervous to speak, he nodded numbly.

They reached the end of the parlor just in time to hear the end of Severus and Kim's argument. "If you thought before you acted, I wouldn't have to be so 'controlling,' Kimberly."

Kim huffed but didn't say anything, so Severus turned to Harry. "I don't have all day."

Remus nudged Harry forward and had to bite his tongue to keep from saying, _But you had time to goad Sirius, didn't you?_

Bravely, Harry took the Hat from Professor Snape. He put it on, trying to think of all the arguments he could so he could be placed in Slytherin. Maybe the Sorting Hat knew, maybe not. Before he could utter a single word in his head, the Hat bellowed, "SLYTHERIN!"

 **A/N: Severus and Sirius are at it again! :/ Next up, a bunch of foreshadowing! :) Please review!**


	7. Learning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you Emarye and LilyEvansDouble for reviewing!**

 **LilyEvansDouble: Yeah… Poor guy. :,(**

 **Emarye: He didn't have much time in between choking on bacon and Harry being sorted. ;) I almost had him and Remus talk to her about it later, but I decided it was a job for Severus Snape. :)**

Chapter 7 Learning

"Hold it right there!" Remus almost smiled when Kim froze mid-run to the floo. It was a few days before school was set to start, and the four of them were using the zoo tickets that Kim got Harry for his birthday. They were flooing to the Leaky Cauldron and taking the Knight Bus from there. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the Cup."

Kim's shoulders slumped as she slowly spun around. "Harry and Sirius are waiting for us."

Unfortunately for her, Remus had a trick up his sleeve. He wasn't a Marauder for nothing. "I told them to pay the parking meter. It'll keep them busy for a while."

"We don't have a car," she said flatly.

Remus chuckled. "I'm sure they'll eventually that figure out. After they figure out what a parking meter is and that paper pounds can't go in it."

Kim thinned her lips at the mental image of Sirius and Harry walking around outside the Leaky Cauldron trying to ask Muggles what a parking meter is. "Now that's just plain mean."

Remus shrugged and gestured to the sofa. "This may take a minute."

Sighing dramatically, Kim threw herself onto the couch. "I know it was stupid, Remus. But Sirius was doing who knows what, and Draco was there, and then my wand was gone! If I stayed with Harry, that meant staying with Draco too…"

"Kim, Sirius saw the Dark Mark at your house when he found your parents' bodies," Remus said bluntly. "So I'd imagine it was rather traumatic for him to find you under it."

"Well…" Kim bit her lip, suddenly feeling horrible. It was obvious that Sirius wasn't always as happy as he wanted to be. Did he have still nightmares, like she did once and a while about Tom or Quirrell? Probably, since he was always the last one to go to bed. "I didn't know… I thought that maybe I had dropped my wand. And I was really angry when I saw someone else using it."

Remus stared for a moment before trying to go on with the impossible task of explaining the terror people of his generation feel upon seeing the Dark Mark. "Sirius found your parents under it. My father and I found my mother in a similar way. Your father couldn't even handle going in his parents' house after he saw the Mark above it. We've lost so many friends…" He stopped when he noticed her eyes were getting wider and wider. "Things are going to start getting bad again. You have to think about what you would do in certain situations because you might not be so lucky next time. And I'm afraid there may always be a next time for a while."

"And you won't always be there," Kim grumbled, annoyed once again and folding her arms over her chest. "That's what Severus said in his letter. Only he was angry."

"Severus expresses a lot of emotions with anger." Remus could see that she was both embarrassed and a little shell shocked. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to talk to her right before going to the zoo, but he didn't want her sulking around the house if he hurt her feelings. He also didn't want her to realize that if he lost so many friends and family, that she might too. Again.

Kim shrugged but then tried to duck her head so her hair would hide that she was blushing. "I just wish I knew how to fight back properly. Like when Harry said _she thought she could win in a fist fight with an armed, full grown man._ I know he was joking, but it made me wish I was Millicent Bulstrode with a chainsaw."

 _Millicent Bulstrode with a chainsaw?_ Remus had to choke back a laugh because he could tell that she was being dead serious. "How about we settle for some counter-jinxes and defensive charms instead?"

"Maybe." Kim hopped off the couch and watched Remus do the same. At least the full moon was far enough away that his bones didn't creak. "And Remus? I'm sorry you found your mum like that."

Remus smiled sadly and put an arm around her shoulder. "Thank you. Now come on. Let's hope Sirius isn't talking to a parking meter."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sirius and Harry were at a loss. This was the city! Surely there should be signs around explaining what parking meters were. How were they supposed to start the day without one?

"Maybe it's like an urban legend," Harry muttered as he and Sirius unknowingly walked past a row of parking meters for the third time. People were starting to stare, especially since Sirius kept insisting to Muggles trying to help that he wasn't lost. "Like my dad says that Muggles kidnap other Muggles to sell their organs."

Sirius stopped pacing and shuddered in revulsion. "That's not true! What would a Muggle want with a kidney or a liver?"

Harry lowered his voice into a whisper. "My dad says the buyers put the new organs in their bodies."

"That's disgusting, and can't possibly be true." Getting desperate, Sirius turned to a group of elderly Muggle woman. He flashed a smile, going for the charm that kept him out of a lot of trouble during his teenage years. "Excuse me, my good ladies, I was wondering if you could help me find a parking meter. I _think_ we need to pay one to gain entrance to the city's parks. We might have a picnic for lunch…"

The women looked at each other and then started hurrying away. Harry watched in horror as Sirius started following them, and they were starting to try to run. The Muggle authorities were sure to arrest him for harassing them.

"Sirius wait!" Harry called. He was halfway down the street, practically begging them to tell him what a parking meter was.

Thankfully, Sirius stopped and turned around while the old women made their great escape. "I was just telling them how we aren't from here!"

"They probably think we're from another planet," Harry muttered. Then, he raised his voice. "Over here! I think I found one."

Since the women were gone, Sirius gave in and hurried over. "What? You haven't moved."

"Well…" Harry pointed at what he assumed was a parking meter. "They were starting to get upset when you asked what a parking meter was. And the brown haired woman glanced at this."

"Oh." Sirius rubbed at his chin and reached in his pockets for a few of the pound notes that Remus gave him. "No wonder they were so confused. These things are everywhere. Now where do I put the money…"

"There's a slot," Harry said slowly. "Maybe fold it up and shove it in there."

"Right…" Sirius folded the money and bent over to try to shove it into the coin slot. "You know that I don't really mind you in Slytherin, right Harry? I just don't like Snape or a majority of their lot. I like you though. You're good."

"Um, thanks?" Harry smiled awkwardly. "Remus said that's how you felt. Well, sort of."

"It's just…" Sirius gave up on the parking meter and stood up, letting his hands fall to his sides. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Kim and Remus running towards them. He looked over to see Kim with a big smile on her face and Remus trying not to laugh. "Old habits die hard, kiddo. And trust me. That wasn't me at my worst with Snape."

Harry narrowed his eyes but wasn't comfortable saying anything. The name Sirius often called Professor Snape was hardly flattering, but then again, Snape wasn't nice to _anyone_ , not really. He wasn't entirely sure what to think and decided it was best to keep quiet. He didn't exactly like Snape, and he liked Sirius. Whatever happened in the past was between them.

* * *

"You won't believe how Mr. Crouch treated Winky after you left," Hermione ranted for what Kim felt like was the millionth time. Ron was lucky to get a window seat on the train. Neville had the other one, but he was too polite to stare out it instead of listen. "House elves devote their lives to their masters and look how they're repaid!"

"If you ask me," Ginny said with more patience than Kim thought possible. "Winky is better off without him. And Hermione, I know you think house elves deserve freedom but look at how Winky handled it. Do they really deserve that devastation?"

"They're brainwashed," Hermione insisted. "Like when Kim was brainwashed by Riddle's diary."

"I need some air." Kim didn't really mind Hermione's comment. Although by the awkward silence that followed, everyone clearly thought she did. It was two years ago, and if she was honest with herself, it was true. She was pretty much Tom's servant. However, she was tired of Hermione's going on two hour lecture on house elves rights. "And Sirius gave me money to buy Harry a million sweets to show he isn't angry with him for being in Slytherin."

"He should be," Ron grumbled, not tearing himself away from the window to see Kim flip him off while backing out the compartment.

In her quest to find Harry, Kim had to face the horrors of the evil dragon Pansy Parkinson. At the sight of her enemy, she tensed, but it was Pansy's appearance that was more startling than running into her, and all the insults died on her lips. The other girl's eyes were sunken in, and she looked really tired, like she hadn't properly slept in days.

"What?" she snapped, which Kim supposed wasn't unusual since, well, they hated each other.

Kim waved the bag of money that Sirius gave her. "Where's Harry?"

Pansy smirked and started walking away, so Kim followed, wanting desperately to kick her. "He's nice. I don't know how he could possibly be related to you."

"I think the same thing about you and Fang," Kim muttered as Pansy swung open a compartment door with her wand.

"Who? Whatever, it doesn't matter." She turned to the occupants of the compartment. "Potter's buying us food. At least she's good for something."

Kim frowned to see that the compartment was full, and no one was trying to make any room for her. Shrugging, she sat on Blaise's lap, not caring that Draco scowled or that Harry briefly looked uncomfortable. "Pansy, I'm beginning to think you don't like me very much."

"Sorry. It's hard to like gnomes." She leaned into Draco, who snaked an arm around her waist. Kim did her best to keep her face blank.

Daphne Greengrass rolled her eyes and held out her hand. "Hand over the gold and leave."

It was rather tempting. She could drag Blaise away and hopefully they could find Luna. Anything was better than being here. Well, besides listening to Hermione that is. But she knew that Remus and Sirius would want her to spend at least some time with Harry on the train and if she was going to do it with his friends, she was going to need candy and lots of it.

"She's staying," Blaise insisted before Kim could think of a response. "And the two of us are picking out the candy."

As they got up, Kim stuck her tongue out at Pansy and Daphne, only stopping when she saw Harry rub at the back of his head and try to force himself to smile. After a few months of seeing Sirius cause him to do it, she knew he did that when something was embarrassing him, but he didn't want to say anything.

"Something's up with Pansy," Blaise informed her once they were down the hall. "Nothing major. She just doesn't seem to have much energy lately. But I will say that calling you a gnome cheered her up."

"You know me. Always bring light into people's lives. Even pug faced gremlins," Kim mumbled, keeping her eyes on her shoes. She felt bad, but not for Pansy. It was more that she felt bad that she couldn't bring herself to care that something was bothering her. The nicest thing she could do was refrain from calling her 'Pugsy' like she did last year.

Blaise snickered and stole a quick kiss before they continued their search for the candy cart. "It's okay. I mean, you don't make me like Ron or Fred and George or Neville."

"You don't like Neville?!" Kim squeaked. "How can you not like Neville?! He's like a life sized teddy bear!"

Blaise opened his mouth to say that was exactly why he didn't like him but closed it and grinned evilly. "I guess I could say the same about Astoria."

"A-story who?" Kim asked rudely as she handed the trolley women the money Sirius gave her and started stuffing her pockets. "You mean that little pipsqueak sitting next to Daphne?!"

"She's probably taller than you!" Blaise laughed, snatching a chocolate frog out of her hand as her expression soured with jealously. "Don't worry. I prefer screeching banshees like you."

Kim stuck her nose in the air and grabbed a box of Bertie Bott's. "And I prefer sneaky, erhm, people who tease everyone like you."

Blaise smiled and chuckled when she yelped at the sight of her left pocket starting to split open. People called him a lot of things, because of his mother. It was good to have someone who couldn't think of anything to call him but a person.

* * *

"Wait until Father gets my letter," Draco growled as he headed to the Dungeons with Blaise and Harry after dinner on Friday. It was a few hours after Moody had turned him into a ferret, and he still felt a little twitchy, like he still had whiskers or something.

Blaise bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He had a feeling that it would be a while Draco would be able to joke about it. Maybe now he'd think twice about trying to start a fight with Weasley. That was never a good idea, since the Weasley twins were still in school along with Ginny. "Your father wouldn't look too good if he went after Moody."

"Something's off about Moody though," Harry said with a frown. "Like… I don't know. It seems like he's out of it."

"You would know how to spot a nutter," Draco muttered. "Considering who you spent the summer living with."

Harry rolled his eyes while Blaise called Draco a ferret face. Before they could start arguing, he said loudly so Draco couldn't respond, "I'm just saying that I don't trust Moody. I wouldn't be alone with him for a second."

"Of course you don't." Ron. Harry thought he'd be pretty happy after seeing Draco bounce around as a ferret. However the youngest Weasley boy was in a rather foul mood and was waiting for them at the entrance to the Dungeons. "Since he's a Dark Wizard catcher and all."

"Weasley." Blaise sounded bored. Harry almost envied his ability to do so with Ron looking ready for a fight. "The 'Slytherins are all Dark' thing started getting old third year."

Ron snorted. "Kim only likes her because you tricked her. But Hermione and Ginny are going to have to pick up the pieces when you dump her for a pureblood."

In a flash, Blaise took out his wand. Luckily, Draco stepped in before they could start dueling. Maybe not so luckily, Harry thought, since Draco said nothing to put a stop to the fight.

"Weasley, I know you must be agitated because you're lost," he drawled. "It must be difficult to find your way in a castle so big when you're used to living in a crate with a dozen siblings and that cow you call a mother. But please, do try to be civilized like the rest of us. I know it's hard."

Unsurprisingly, Ron's ears turned scarlet. But instead of taking his wand out and trying to duel Draco or Blaise, he turned to Harry, who wanted to kick himself for taking a step back. "Stay away from Kim. Stay away from Ginny. And especially stay away from Hermione."

"Her-Hermione?" Harry tried to sound like he didn't know who Ron was talking about, but his body betrayed him, and he turned bright red.

Ron took out his own wand. "She—"

"Mr. Weasley," Professor Snape boomed, seeming to appear out of nowhere like he always did. "I think Professor Moody made it clear today that dueling is not permitted in the halls."

"Malfoy wasn't dueling! He was attacking me from behind! And what do you call that?!" Ron yelled. He gestured to Blaise, but his wand nowhere in sight.

"Detention this weekend, Mr. Weasley." Severus glared at him, daring him to say another word. "I suggest you go to your Common Room before I decide to be less lenient and make them a doubles."

Ron clenched his jaw, like it was painful for him not to respond. Finally, he gave up and stomped away.

Expecting a lecture or at least having to thank him, Harry looked over to see that Professor Snape was already gone. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

"I can't wait for the Tournament this year!" Kim chattered to Severus in his office the next day. "I'm kinda bummed about Quidditch though. Ron was going to try out. Well, he didn't know yet. But me and Ginny were going to make him!"

"Ginny and I," Severus corrected automatically. "And if I find out you're going to try to enter the Tournament, Kimberly, so help me…"

"I missed living with you too Severus." She covered up her laugh with a cough when Severus glared at her. "Anyway, I'm not seventeen! And I'm voting for Angelina because Fred and George are gits, and everyone else is voting for Cedric Diggory."

"You aren't voting…" Severus groaned and rubbed at his eyes. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered. The girl only payed attention when she wanted to, clearly, and only got about half of Albus's speech through her thick skull last night. "The point is that you have to be careful this year, Kimberly."

"I know. I know. I know!" Kim rolled her eyes. "Sirius told me. Remus told me. Hell, even Harry told me! But that was because I flicked an Every Flavor Bean at Pansy, and it hit her in the eye. How was I supposed to know it was vomit flavored?"

Not bothering to comment, Severus handed her a piece of parchment and then took out a small vial. For some reason, she was reluctant to open it. "What' s this?"

"It's just something you may need in the near future," he said sourly. "And I'd prefer you take it than not."

Suspiciously, Kim opened the parchment. When she saw what the potion was called, she glowered like a cat that had water thrown at it. She was beginning to wonder what Severus thought of her since this came up pretty much every year. "Are you serious? A contraception potion? You've been on my case since before second year! I've only kissed Blaise… and Stanley… and er, no one else!"

Severus raised his eyebrows at the 'no one else' but said nothing. "My apologies. It's just the thought of you pregnant and hormonal gives me nightmares."

Kim really, _really_ wanted to crumble up the parchment and throw it in his face. If that was his idea of a joke… It only would have been funny if it was about someone else! Trying to forget about it, she stuffed the potion recipe in her robe pocket and eyeballed the vial. "What? Is that a sample so I don't mess it up?"

"No." If it was possible, the subject of the vial stressed Severus out more than contraception potion. He seemed to have aged ten years when he tried to hand her the vial, which she wouldn't take. "I want you to start taking this. I'll begin teaching you how to make it as well… It contains small amounts of several common poisons and several uncommon ones. It'll help you build up an immunity."

"Why would I need that?" Kim leaned away from him. There was no way she was going to take poison on a daily basis! No one was trying to poison her! And Alastor was here. He used to be a Dark Wizard catcher. No one would dare try anything with him around.

"Kimberly, I won't always be able to watch out for you." Subconsciously, Severus gripped his left arm. It was only a matter of time before he would have to answer the Dark Lord's call. "You're getting older now. You need to learn how to take care of yourself."

Freaked out, Kim jumped out of her seat. "I'm not taking that! It'll make me sick and—"

"Not in this small a dose," Severus promised. "You may get a stomach ache at first—"

"I'm not taking it!"

Severus sighed tiredly when she ran out of his office. She didn't understand. He didn't know how to explain that he was going to have to spy again soon. That he was going to have to tell the Dark Lord that she hated him after Black told her about his past. It was the only way that he wouldn't be expected to hand her over.

The poison was the only way he knew how to protect her without actually protecting her. Lupin and Black would teach her how to defend herself magically. With time, he would fade into the background, and she would resent him. It was better that way.

For now, he wasn't entirely sure what he should do. Lucius had sent him five letters in the past three days and for good reason. For the first time in almost thirteen years, the Dark Mark on his left arm was starting to burn.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! So what do you guys think is up with Pansy? The only hint I'll give is that it's not about Death Eater business. She has no idea about what's going on in that department. :) Please review!**


	8. Controlling

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you Emarye and LilyEvansDouble for reviewing!**

 **A/N: No one could guess what's up with Pansy! I thought someone would say that she's a werewolf… But that's not it either! Harry comes the closest in this chapter, but he's also wrong! It'll be explained fully in Chapter 12!**

Chapter 8 Controlling, alternate title: The Puppet Hex

Remus had to be the sneakiest of the Marauders. As he must've predicted, Kim didn't wear her glasses the first few days of school. She was planning on using them only during Severus's lectures since he knew. She planned on sitting way in the back by herself and hoped no one would notice. But then, Remus had to betray her and send Hermione the Dragon to breathe flames down her neck.

"Are you really going to let your school work suffer over vanity?" Hermione barked to wake her up Monday morning.

As she did almost every morning before school started, Kim answered Hermione's greeting with a moan and covered her face with a pillow. Her friend barely heard a muffled, "Yes."

"Well too bad!" Keeping with their routine, Hermione snatched the pillow and Kim's blanket away. "You are wearing your reading glasses if I have to charm them to your face!"

"Oooh! You have reading glasses! Let me see!" Lavender asked excitedly. Kim wanted to punch her (more for being a morning person than wanting to see the glasses).

"Hermione!" Kim whined. She sat up and pouted. "Pansy's going to laugh at me!"

"Tough!" Hermione put her hands on her hips, telling Kim that she'd literally drag her out if she had to. "Since when do you care what Parkinson thinks?"

"Since now! Who wants to be called ugly?" With a growl, Kim threw herself back on the bed. "I'm not as tough as you, Hermione! I'm as spineless as a jellyfish!"

"Nice try." When Kim didn't move, Hermione pretended to start to leave. "I guess I'll just have to tell Professor McGonagall that you aren't going to school today."

Like lightning, Kim shot out of bed. "Okay I'm up!"

* * *

Since she had Herbology and Care for Magical Creatures, Kim didn't have to use her glasses until Arthimancy when they were getting started on a review worksheet. She tried to be real subtle about it too and waited for everyone in her group to start working before she slipped them on. Unfortunately, the albino ice prince was the first to notice.

"Is this an attempt to look clever?" Draco asked, lips twitching into a smile. "Because it's not working."

Blaise looked up from his parchment, not bothering to see what Draco was making fun of before kicking him in the shin. "You promised you'd be a good boy if you could join our group."

Hermione didn't look up from her calculations. "Who said he could join?"

"I am clever," Kim forced herself to say, even though it was pretty hard not to burst into tears. She barely had them on for two minutes, and she was already being made fun of!

Finally, Blaise looked to see what Draco was making fun of. Kim smiled, hoping for a compliment, but her boyfriend mortifying Draco was just as good she supposed. "She looks like those sexy librarians in the magazine you have under your mattress, Draco."

Blushing bright red, Hermione snapped her book shut and stood up. "I say we form our own smaller group, Kim."

"But-but this is one of the best moments of my life, Hermione!" Kim laughed loudly as Hermione dragged her across the classroom, not caring that Professor Vector took away ten House points for her distracting the class. It wasn't every day that Draco turned dark red and tried to make himself as small as possible.

"This is why I'm your only friend, Blaise," Draco muttered once they were gone.

Blaise shrugged and started leafing through his textbook. "You wouldn't like it if I made fun of Pansy's appearance. And Harry's almost my friend. He'll hang out with me alone eventually."

"Well Pansy isn't—" Draco turned and gestured to where Hermione was helping Kim with a problem. "— _that._ She's honestly—"

"My girlfriend, not yours," Blaise growled. "I think you'd be a lot nicer if you accepted that."

Draco snorted, although the blush that was starting to go away suddenly came back. "Thank Merlin for that."

Blaise rolled his eyes and started focusing on his work. He decided to drop it because he had a feeling that if this conversation continued, he wouldn't be speaking to Draco for a while. Instead, he went back to teasing him. "Yeah. Since Pansy's not feeling well today, you have the perfect opportunity to spend the day oogling at Madam Pince."

"Blaise!"

* * *

"Are you going to tell Remus or Sirius?" Harry found Kim pouting at the Quidditch Stadium, holding her Firebolt but making no moves to ride it. Classes were finally over, so he could try to talk to her about Moody.

Shrugging, Kim set her broom down with the bristles facing towards the ground. Wood would cringe and give her a long lecture if he was here. "Why? Remus will worry, and Sirius will freak out like he did at the Cup."

" _Because_ …" Harry didn't understand how she didn't see this as a big deal. "Because Moody showed everyone how vulnerable you are to the Imperious Curse!"

Kim threw herself on a wooden bench and kicked her feet off the edge. Of course Harry was the best in their year at throwing the curse off. He probably thought it was easy. "So? I wasn't the only one."

"But you're the one who Voldemort is always after! Remus says he's still alive!" Harry scowled when she smiled sadly. "You'd think a Dark wizard catcher would think before making you dance around the room like a puppet in front of everyone. The whole school is talking about it, so it's bound to reach the ears of people who can use it to their advantage!"

By the face Kim was making, like she wasn't sure if she should laugh or be appalled, Harry knew that she thought he was ranting. After a moment, she settled for letting out a small, albeit nervous, laugh. "I know Alastor from Sirius's trial. He's a crazy old man, but he means well."

"I don't think so," Harry mumbled, almost to himself. Kim wondered if he wanted her to hear. A week ago, Ron was complaining about Harry getting him detention all weekend, and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. "I just… don't trust him. As I'm sure you've heard."

Kim took a deep breath and pointed her face towards the sky. "I love Ron like a brother, but he's being an arse, I know. But I like Alastor. He tried to help Sirius."

Harry could tell by her tone that she wasn't going to believe him about Professor Moody, so he decided to drop it. At least she wasn't believing whatever Ron was saying. "Draco wasn't too nice either. So I guess it evens out."

"Exactly!" Kim hopped up and grabbed her Firebolt. "So are you going to race me or what? If you don't watch yourself, you'll be as bad as Sirius. Or worse! Severus!"

Harry stared as she climbed on her Firebolt and zoomed off. The tension with Ron clearly bothered her. Maybe she acted like a goofball sometimes because it was much easier than the meltdowns he overheard Remus telling Sirius she used to have. He supposed it was for the best. There was nothing he could really do to make Ron happy, and Professor Moody was supposedly going to teach them how to throw off the Imperious Curse anyway. For now, a quick race wouldn't hurt. He'd worry about Ron Weasley and Mad-Eye Moody later.

* * *

"What are you doing?!" Kim yelled. It was early October, and everyone was starting to buzz with excitement because of the students from other schools coming in a few weeks. She went upstairs to grab her coat to have lunch outside with her friends when she found Severus tearing up all her things in her area of the dormitory.

After taking out a drawer and dumping it on the floor, Severus finally answered. "This morning, a prefect found writing on the walls outside the Dungeons."

"So?!" It took Kim a minute to realize what he was getting at. Typical. He just had to automatically assume it was her. "I didn't do it! And Tom's diary was destroyed when I was being eaten!"

Severus didn't respond for a moment. By the tightening of his lips, she supposed he was lost in the memory. Once he recovered, he flipped over her mattress with a flick of his wand. "Don't think I don't recognize your handwriting from two years ago, Kimberly. Tell me. What does _'The puppet has found its master'_ mean? And what kind of blood did you use?"

"Hey!" Kim ran over to stop him from ripping open her top drawer, which had her underwear in it. She stood in front of the dresser, so he'd have to push her to get to it. "Severus, I don't know what you're talking about… I…"

Severus was glaring at her top drawer, thinking she had something very similar to the Dark Lord's diary in it. As a result, he didn't see her become glassy eyed. "Open the drawer, Kimberly."

"I saw who did it though." She was blinking slowly, reminding Severus of an animated doll. "She was… She had messy hair. Like she forgot to brush it. It was dark red… She was a little on the short side too. And pale. Pasty even. And—"

"Kimberly, you do realize you're describing yourself." Severus sneered at her. Did she think this was funny? "Although not in a favorable light."

Kim shook her head, suddenly back to normal. He didn't realize it, but she had no idea what she just said. "What?" she asked dumbly. "Look, Severus. I have no idea what you're talking about. It sounds like something Fred and George would do. You had no right to trash my room. Lavender's gonna freak."

Furious, Severus took a step closer to her, only becoming angrier when he saw by the look in her eyes that she thought he was being ridiculous. "After your second year, and after seeing the Dark Mark, I don't think this is funny, Kimberly. You are going to scrub the wall clean and then perhaps, you can _confess_ , so the rest of your punishment can be less severe."

Kim's eyes widened. "I didn't do it! Draco probably did! I heard Mad-Eye! Draco's father—"

"Draco is not his father!" Severus hissed. " _Draco_ nearly died for you second year, Kimberly. So blaming him is despicable even if you didn't do it."

"I didn't," she repeated, yelling now. "And yeah. I think I can blame him! He's only nice when he wants to be! Just like Lucius! Who's only nice when Mrs. Malfoy's around or he wants something!"

"Did you cast the Dark Mark?" Severus asked (demanded), silently thanking Merlin Black wasn't here.

"What?" Kim wanted to rip her hair out. Of all the things…

Severus pointed his wand in the air. Within half a minute, Kim's space in the dormitory reassembled itself. "Just because it happened thirteen years ago does not mean what your parents and so many others suffered through is free to poke fun at, Kimberly. Making fun of the Chamber being opened is one thing but—"

"GET OUT!" Kim screamed. She couldn't believe her ears. How could he possibly think that she would mock her parents' death like that?! And she still couldn't sit down and have a long conversation about second year. Remus had to answer all of Sirius's questions.

Not sure what to think, Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kimberly—"

"Fine! If you won't leave then I will!" Kim snatched up her coat and started storming out. "And go ahead! Check the top drawer! I got a new bra if you want to check it for reincarnations of Voldemort!"

Severus closed his eyes as he heard her stomp down the stairs and tell Miss Weasley that she caught 'Count Dracula's creepy son' sneaking through her stuff. Was she telling the truth? Or was she just trying to be a stupid kid, doing normal stuff that clashed with her abnormal life?

* * *

"Why wouldn't you think she was telling the truth?" Black spat when Severus made the stupid decision to inform Lupin of what he found the following weekend. "She nearly died second year! And the year before that! Why the hell do you think she would think it's a joke?"

Severus gave Remus a pained look that said, _Why do you let him live with you?_ It seemed that having a conversation with Black that didn't involve screaming was nothing short of a miracle. "Because she's fourteen and if she isn't joking about it, she'll have to take it seriously."

"But asking her if she cast the Dark Mark was taking it too far, Severus," Lupin chided gently as turned the stove on. He was busying himself with making tea, probably so he wouldn't have to watch and get caught in the middle of the argument. "I mean, if she did vandalize the wall—"

"Which she didn't!" Black butted in childishly.

Lupin sighed. "If she did, it's probably in reaction to all that's happening. Because she's dealt with it her first two years, and I'm sure she isn't looking forward to it again. And we do keep telling her that it's going to get worse."

"Because it is," Severus pressed. He was beginning to wonder why he even showed up. Although he would never admit it, he wanted to confide in Lupin about the Mark burning on his arm. There was a snowball's chance in hell that he'd do it with Black present, however. He was going to have to resort to talking to Albus.

Black snorted. "At this point, I don't know what to believe about you, Snivellus. She told me about the poison… About you trying to help her with it… Well, she told Remus about the poison, but I'm sure she knew I would read the letter too!"

If he had to hear that name one more time! Severus would have hexed the mutt, but he knew how to hurt him more. "The letters are addressed to Lupin because she sees you as a peer, Black. And when she doesn't see you as little more than Ronald Weasley, she sees you as a cracked up mess who has a tantrum and burns a house down."

"I think it's time you leave." Surprisingly enough, it was Lupin. For once, he was firm, probably because Black very much resembled a kicked puppy.

"Very well." Severus rose from his seat and refused to look at Black, who was suddenly very quiet. "She's in detention until she explains."

Severus left through the floo and refused to feel bad when Lupin thought he was already gone and said to Black, "There's nothing wrong with needing time to adjust, Sirius. You're a great godfather."

* * *

It wasn't until almost halfway through October that Pansy realized that Harry was onto her. Harry wished he wasn't so shy. She clearly thought she could intimidate him with a confrontation.

"Why are you always staring at my hands, Potter?" she demanded when she spotted him alone after classes. "Got some sort of weird thing for them?"

Since she snuck up on him and caught him off guard, Harry jumped and spun around. "H-hands? That's… Um, no?"

Pansy rolled her eyes and dragged him to an end of the hallway where no one could hear them. "Whatever you're doing, stop it. Or I'll tell everyone about your crush on the mudblood."

At the word 'mudblood,' Harry tensed and ripped his arm out of her grasp. "Don't call her that! And forget it. Draco's worried about you. I had a hunch, but you didn't have any cuts or callouses so I was wrong."

"Callouses?" Pansy looked at him like she thought she was an idiot. "What? Do you think I'm a bloody farmer?"

"N-no." Harry ran a hand through his hair. Draco was going to kill him if he found out. "I mean on your knuckles. You go to the bathroom after you eat all the time. I thought…"

For a moment, Pansy paled, like she was nervous that he figured something out. But once she ran his words over her head a few times, she relaxed. "You think I'm making myself sick?"

Harry shrugged helplessly. He was beginning to think lying and saying he had a hand fetish would have been easier than this conversation. "You've lost some weight—"

"Some?" she shrieked as if insulted. Her anger had appeared at the flip of a switch lately, so Harry supposed he shouldn't have been so surprised. "I'm down two dress sizes! That's more than some!"

"Alright! Alright!" Harry held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry! Okay? But Daphne is the one who's researching eating disorders. So I'm not the only one who thinks something's up."

Bad idea. That was a very bad idea. Daphne was going to kill him for giving her up like that. That is, if Pansy didn't finish him off first. "Mind your own business, Potter. And I'll mind mine. Tell Draco any of this, and I'm telling the whole school about you drooling over Granger. And Weasley will be the least of your worries."

"Fine." Harry laughed bitterly. Pansy was nice, until someone said something she didn't like. "Draco isn't stupid. He'll notice soon enough anyway."

Pansy pushed past him, probably to go find Daphne. "There's nothing to notice."

* * *

"I fear, my lord…" Barty Crouch Jr. licked his lips. "That there may be a problem with your plans."

Voldemort, who was enjoying a nice evening of watching Nagini scare Wormtail, narrowed his eyes at his servant. He was propped up in an old, beat up leather chair that they found in an abandoned Muggle warehouse. Wormtail was scheduled to burn the place down tomorrow.

"Oh?" the Dark Lord asked, sounding far too innocent to be merciful. "Why is that Barty? Don't tell they've already found you out. That would be most unfortunate for you."

Barty shook his head quickly. "No, my lord. It's the girl. I don't think she's capable of completely the Tasks. The boy on the other hand—"

"The boy is not who I want!" Voldemort yelled. From the effort, he leaned over and broke into a coughing fit. He was tired of living in this feeble body. "It must be the girl."

Again, Barty licked his lips, this time a little nervously. "She… She's weak, my lord. She can't even fight a Puppet Hex. And I had her dancing around like a monkey when I demonstrated the Imperious Curse."

"You're using the Puppet Hex on her?" Voldemort rubbed at his eyes with his brittle fingers. Sometimes he wondered about the devoted ones. They always wanted to do something extra, thinking they could please him more. "Why? You'll have plenty of people to torture—"

"Snape! The traitor!" Barty practically screamed, too passionate to realize who he interrupted. "He dared betray you, my lord! If I can drive him away from the wolf and Black, he'll be vulnerable. Or even better, I can use her to get him in trouble! _He_ belongs in Azkaban! Not Rodolphus and Rabastan! And I told you what Black did to poor Bella!"

Almost bored, Voldemort faintly wondered what would be a worse punishment for Barty, the Torture Curse or a few weeks of not hearing from his master. Eventually, he decided to settle for torture, but not before finishing up their meeting. "Do what you want with the girl. Without killing her or getting caught. I don't want to have to get Wormtail to charm the portkey. Do anything to get thrown back in Azkaban, and I'll make sure Rodolphus and Rabastan hear that you betrayed me."

Barty bowed low. "Thank you, my lord. I won't let you down. Black will want Severus's head on a spike by Christmas."

Voldemort rolled his eyes. He was too good to his servants. "And if you don't think she can win under your guidance as her teacher, just get rid of the competition during the Third Task. Poison one. Incapacitate the other during the challenge. And leave the last be. Make sure she can beat at least one. If not, Dumbledore may get suspicious and figure out how to shut the Third Task down."

"Yes, my lord." Barty nodded fervently. "I'll have the first feel the effects of the poison an hour after the task has begun. Perhaps I can put some sort of pheromone on the second. The sphinx won't be too happy to find the champion and see he is not a potential mate…"

"The sphinx will be too intelligent," the Dark Lord said offhandedly. "Make the champion smell like food for another creature, Barty. You can't draw too much attention. Especially since you will be killing the strongest."

"Yes, my lord." Barty bowed again and started to back away. "If I may, my lord, I can't be gone too long or—"

"You can leave after your punishment, Barty." Although it was currently longer than his arm, Voldemort somehow managed to lift his wand. " _Never_ interrupt me again."

Barty gulped but accepted his punishment. Begging for mercy was like telling the Dark Lord he was wrong. He nodded and got on one knee, lowering his head in a sort of bow. He didn't get to see his master's cold, cruel smile.

 _"Crucio!"_

 **A/N: In regards to Harry's theory, a sign of purging is cuts or callouses on the knuckles (after doing it a while) because of the irritation when the sufferer puts his or her finger down his or her throat. (Sorry if that grossed you out.)**

 **A/N2: Thanks for reading! So far there will be at least four character deaths in year four. Barty Crouch Senior's life is up for debate, if anyone wants his life spared! :) I'll sprinkle a few details of the hex over the never few chapters, but it won't all be explained until the Second Task! Like the summary says, unlike second year, Kim will be able fight off his control. Eventually… :( Please review!**


	9. Winning?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you Emarye and LilyEvansDouble for reviewing!**

 **LilyEvansDouble: I added two scenes in here because of your review. :)**

Chapter 9 Winning?

During the third week of October, Remus woke up (surprisingly since it was before nine) to the sound of Sirius cursing. He shot out of bed, thinking Sirius had hurt himself or that something equally bad happened. However, his old friend was found in the sitting room, completely unharmed and surrounded by crumbled pieces of parchment.

"How could he do this?" Sirius demanded as he bawled up another piece of parchment and threw it across the room. His hands were covered in ink, telling Remus that this had been going on for a while. "How could your so called _friend_ do something like this?"

"What are you talking about, Padfoot?" Remus asked even though he already knew who Sirius was talking about. Were those two ever going to get along?

But Sirius was only half listening. Nervously, he ran a shaking hand through his hair. "I wanted you to tell them. Because between the three of us, you're the least likely to favor one side and cause a fight!"

Remus sighed, scanning the littered floor until he found a letter that wasn't crumpled or half written. When he finally found it under a sofa cushion, he expected to see a letter from Severus, saying that Kim had done something stupid, and he let something slip about James. The letter was from Kim, however, and it sounded like Severus had told her all about their years at Hogwarts picking on him. "What the…?"

Sirius abandoned another letter and started pulling at his hair. "That's it. I'm telling her. I'm telling her that slime ball was a Death Eater!"

"Hold on, Sirius." Remus frowned as he tried to read through the letter. It was her hand writing, but it didn't sound like her at all. "I suppose she's mad—"

"Mad?" Sirius repeated. "She's practically hysterical, Remus! She just found out James and I picked on her precious daddy! Well, I'm about to tell her what that bastard really is! She won't call him her dad anymore!"

"Please calm down." Remus read the letter again. It was weird. Kim usually wrote like she spoke, and she would never say, _I am deeply hurt by this discovery._ Almost hesitantly, he tapped the letter with his wand, only to find that it wasn't a forgery. "Let's… Can we just ask her about this, Sirius? Because this really doesn't make sense."

Sirius forced himself to smile through thinned lips, like he was trying not to scream. "Fine. But when she starts yelling at me, I'm telling her why I've never even _thought_ about apologizing!"

* * *

Kim was chattering away at breakfast, telling Blaise and Ginny about supermarkets when she spotted Remus and Sirius heading to her table. Since she hadn't seen them in almost two months, she smiled brightly and waved her arm in the air obnoxiously. Remus stopped in his tracks, gave Sirius a funny look and rushed over to her after giving a quick smile to Harry.

"Hey! Are we doing something today?" Kim grabbed Blaise's arm. "If we're skiving off, can Blaise come too?"

Remus stared as they waited for him to explain why they were here. She clearly wasn't upset… "Actually, I read the letter. Now I know you were upset, sweetheart, but it was a little mean and—"

Kim blinked in surprise and then looked at Sirius, who was looking at his feet like he was waiting for her to start screaming at him. "What letter?"

"About Severus," Remus said slowly. Frowning, Kim turned around and looked at Severus, who scowled and rose from his seat to see what they were talking about. He squeezed Sirius's arm, silently tell him not to start a fight in front of the Hogwarts student body.

Thinking he was talking about the writing on the wall letter, Kim wrinkled her nose. It had been a week, so she wasn't as angry as she once was, especially since Severus had eased up on the detentions lately. "Did you just get that? Or did Sirius steal it? Because he answered it instead of you! Hedwig dropped that off a while ago. Severus is a jerk, isn't he?"

Sirius, who was glaring at Severus's advancing form, perked up at his old rival being called a jerk and turned to her. "You addressed the letter to me, Kimmy."

"Did I? I could have sworn…" Like it was nothing, Kim shrugged. "I hardly ever proof read. It drives Hermione bonkers."

Remus was about to make sure they were talking about the same letter when Severus finally reached them and made his presence known with his usual lack of greeting. "What is it, Black? Don't think you can get her out of her History test today."

Because of the letter, Sirius started shaking with anger. "Now you listen here—"

"Let's take this somewhere less public," Remus said loudly, practically begging. Sirius swore but listened, and Severus gave him an odd look before curiosity got the best of him, and he started to head out as well.

Kim, on the other hand, threw her hands in the air to her friends as if to say _What am I going to do with these three?_ Rolling her eyes, she started following them. She didn't know what was going on but prayed it wasn't going to lead to another sex talk.

* * *

After a few minutes, Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table. Briefly, he wondered how Blaise could take sitting there with all the mean looks he was getting. "What happened?"

"Who knows." Ginny smiled at him in a way that made Harry feel guilty. "One thing you should know about Kim is that she's always in trouble. She shot a spitball throughProfessor Binns the other day. Sometimes she just likes to be mean."

"Yeah, um…" Harry looked a way, feeling both embarrassed and awkward. Even though he was sitting far away from all the other teachers, Professor Moody caught his eye. The old man was being weird as usual. He tapped his left foot with his wand and started mumbling to himself. "I know. Sirius just looked like a…"

"Kicked puppy?" Blaise finished before Ginny could for him. "She won't admit it, but I think she still resents him for briefly dropping her off during the summer. Although she wouldn't tell me much… Just that Muggles are awful and that she didn't feel safe. Just like she resents Draco for… I don't know, breathing or something."

Harry laughed. There was more to it than that, but after their birthday party, Blaise usually refused to acknowledge that there was anything but animosity between Kim and Draco. In front of him, at least. "Right. I hope she forgives him soon…"

* * *

"For the last time, guys, I didn't do anything!" Kim whined as they stopped in Severus's office. "Okay. I did throw that spit ball. And I did call Pansy Parkinson Pugsy yesterday. And I did forget to do my Charms homework. And—"

"Actually, I am talking about the letter you sent Sirius this morning." Remus paused and then decided to clarify. "About what Severus told you… About how James and Sirius… and me treated him as children."

"What?" Severus felt his blood run cold. There was no way he would sit down and tell the girl that! He was too ashamed and wouldn't be able to answer her questions without flipping out on her. "I did no such thing."

"She said you did! And who else would have told her?" Black snarled. "Yeah, okay. I'll admit it. James and I were prats. But you had no right—I didn't tell her what you are!"

"And what are you, Black?" Severus hissed. "A bully who's life started going downhill at the ripe old age of seventeen!"

"Hey! I—for your information, _Snivellus_ —"

Remus sighed tiredly as they stared arguing, voices rising by the second. He was about to say something to try to get them to stop when he saw Kim move out of the corner of his eye. She jerked her left foot out, almost like she was dancing. Severus and Sirius were arguing too much to notice, and by the time he looked to see what she was doing, she stopped.

"Why would you let Sirius and my dad do such a thing, Remus?" Kim asked so innocently that Remus couldn't help but be suspicious. Again, it didn't sound like her. She wasn't freaking out or having accidental magic. Instead, she calmly said what would bother him the most.

Frowning, Remus grabbed her by her chin and tilted her head up. For a second he thought… No, he was being paranoid after second year. Her eyes were as clear as day, and she tilted her head to the side, wondering what he was doing.

"I was young and your father and Sirius, along with Peter, were my best friends," he admitted reluctantly as he let her go. "But I do regret not saying anything when they bullied Severus. And I will admit I helped with some of the pranks."

Kim's eyes widened. What?! Sirius and Remus picked on Severus with her dad?! "You-you _what?!_ Does Harry know about this?! Does everyone know about this?! I—Oh my _God!_ " She spun around to see Sirius, who stopped in the middle of yelling at Severus to stare at her in horror. "How could you do this?"

Sirius let his wand arm fall to his side. He definitely shouldn't have taken it out, especially since Snape didn't. "Kimmy—"

"Don't talk to me!" Kim yelled before running out of Severus's office and slamming the door behind her.

Remus rubbed at his eyes when she went. _That went better than expected,_ he thought. Perhaps he thought too soon, because a split second later, Sirius and Severus were at it again.

Sirius pointed his wand at Severus. "I didn't tell her what you are! Or what you called Lily!"

"For the last time, I told her nothing, Black!" Severus hollered, taking out his own wand. "Don't you think that if I planned on saying something, I would have when you were contacting her four years ago. Or when you dragged her to the Ministry? Or when you were first declared innocent?"

Sirius's wand let out a few sparks, but Severus barreled on, saying sarcastically, "No! I'm going to wait for a quiet October evening because I know it would give me the pleasure of seeing your face no good reason!"

"She calls that girl a name she made up for her," Sirius said quietly. "Just like James used to… Just like I still do."

Severus laughed like he thought Sirius was an idiot. "And has been for a year. Get out of my office, Black. I'm not going to beg you to believe me."

* * *

Harry couldn't believe he was doing this, but he had a feeling that Kim wasn't talking to Sirius and Remus. (Okay, it was more than a feeling since she screamed it to him in the library before getting them both kicked out and telling him what happened.) And he was certain that Sirius and Remus weren't talking to Professor Snape. He knew Kim wouldn't believe him, but after what happened, he had to hope that Professor Snape would have no other choice.

"Sir?" Harry was beginning to wish he hadn't sent his friends off after class. Being alone with Snape was like being alone with a rabid vampire.

"What is it, Potter?" Severus growled as he started erasing one of his chalkboards. "If you think I'm answering any of your questions about your precious father, forget it."

"No…" Although he wasn't about to say it, Harry thought he'd rather have a nice long chat with one of Hagrid's blast ended shrewts. "I… I, well, I think it's Professor Moody who sent the letter. Because… Kim didn't know what Remus was talking about when Blaise asked her about it later."

Severus narrowed his eyes. He almost asked why the boy was suspicious of Moody, but then he remembered Draco's little incident weeks ago. And although the boy didn't know it, Moody wasn't too keen on a Death Eater working at Hogwarts, no matter how many times Dumbledore added a 'former' in front of the title. It made sense.

"Leave," Severus snapped, causing Potter to jump.

"Don't you want to know why I think it's him?" the boy demanded, wanting to ask about Moody's behavior from yesterday morning.

"No." Severus sneered at him. "Believe it or not, Potter, I am as intelligent as a fourteen year old boy. I know why and will be speaking with him later."

"Fine." Annoyed, Harry left without another word. If Severus was still so angry after about twenty years, he was clearly letting Sirius and his dad win.

* * *

"Mad-Eye has a fake leg, Harry. That's probably why he was messing with it." Blaise smirked as he, Harry, and Draco walked to the Quidditch Stadium for a quick game before curfew. "Sometimes I swear you're too observant for your own good."

Before Harry could respond, Draco, who obviously wasn't listening, blurted out, "I think Pansy's taking drugs!"

The trio stopped, and Blaise and Harry shared a look, not sure what to say. Pansy never admitted to anything, so they couldn't exactly say that they thought otherwise.

"Did you ask her?" Blaise asked cautiously. This was starting to be something everyone knew about, but no one talked about. It was more like they didn't know what to do. They knew something was wrong, but not exactly what. He was surprised it took Draco this long to notice.

"No." Draco bit his lip and stopped outside the Stadium. "But last night she was shaking and… It's like she's wasting away. And I found an empty vial in her room. She asked me to get her coat, and it slipped out of her pocket."

Harry raised his eyebrows. Maybe Draco was right. "You should probably tell—"

"I can't!" Draco groaned and looked at the sky, like what was going on was its fault. "If her mum finds out, she'll flip. You don't understand. She's just… She's awful and always puts Pansy down. I think telling someone, who will have to tell her mum, will make it worse."

"Well what else can we do?" Harry muttered. Confronting Pansy would only put her on a rampage. With her temper lately, he doubted anyone could say anything to help her.

"We could dump all her potions," Blaise tried. "If Daphne nicks her pocket money, she won't be able to replace them."

"It's worth a try." Draco shrugged helplessly. Somehow, he didn't think it was going to be that easy.

* * *

"Ew! Gross! Look at your foot!"

Already regretting this, Kim scowled at Lavender's words. She should have just studied for Defense with Hermione. Instead, she jumped at the opportunity to get out of it by letting Lavender and Parvati give her a makeover.

"Leave me alone! I thought you said you were going to make me beautiful," Kim said bitterly. Perhaps she was being too sensitive, but she didn't like the choice of words. They made her feel ugly.

"It's just an expression," Parvati mumbled as she looked through her eyeshadows. "I'm thinking gold… Or maybe something a little more earthy."

"Like dirt?" Kim asked rudely.

Parvati ignored her. "Here we go. It's called Gold Lamé!"

Trying to be nice, Kim pointed to a more brown shade. "This is better."

"Hello?!" Roughly, Lavender lifted up Kim's left foot so she and Parvati could see it from where they were sitting on her bed. "How'd you get a bruise like this?"

Cocking her head to the side, Kim grabbed her foot and brought it as close to her face as she could get it. It was a small bruise and looked like it was in the shape of an 'X.' "I don't know."

"She's always rolling around in the dirt." Parvati got up and walked over to her bed to grab more makeup. "What do you expect? What do you think Lavender? Pink lipstick would look awful on her."

"Hey!" Kim wondered if she yelled loud enough, if Hermione would swoop in and save her. Ginny surely would.

"But I think red would look pretty." Lavender grabbed Kim's foot and yanked it back to the ground. "We'll deal with those atrocities you call toenails after we get all the dirt out from beneath your fingernails."

"I think I should get my foot checked out, actually," Kim said quickly. They were going to kill her! All night, they were going to pin her down and file, pluck, and paint the life out of her!

Lavender and Parvati laughed evilly. Kim could only hope they weren't going to want to redo the makeup in the morning.

* * *

"Why," Severus drawled while entering Moody's office a few days later, "did you find it necessary to forge a letter to Black, Moody? You could have told the girl yourself. She trusts you enough. It seems rather _Slytherin_ to send Black a fake letter."

Moody's magical eye looked him up and down. He smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about, Snape."

Severus went on as if the old man hadn't spoken. "I didn't get the… _privilege_ of reading the letter of myself, so I can't ask you how you know certain details…"

Moody waited, expecting threats or at least more questions Severus supposed. He licked his lips and then took a swig from his flask. "Who is Sirius, or anyone for that matter, going to believe? Me? Or a Death Eater? I didn't write a letter, Snape."

Severus stared. There was something… off about Moody. He couldn't quiet put his finger on it. "Again, why not just tell the girl? I'm sure you'd enjoy explaining my past to her. Trickery isn't your style, Moody. Direct confrontation is."

"Perhaps I will. Or I'll tell everyone. When the time is right." Moody hobbled over to his desk and sunk into it. "Until then Severus, I suggest you stop accusing war heroes and start acting like the man Dumbledore insists you are."

Defeated for now, Severus turned heel and left. He was more certain than ever that Moody had sent that letter. Now all he had to do is figure out why.

* * *

"Should I be concerned?" Remus asked with a small smile. Kim hadn't spoken to them since the fall out with Severus, and he was surprised to pick her and Harry up on Halloween and see her wearing makeup.

Kim shrugged, feeling guilty that Sirius wouldn't look at her. "Lavender and Parvati did it the other week, and I like it."

Remus ruffled her hair, laughing when she glowered. "You look cute. Sirius would have something to say but…"

"Let's go," Kim said loudly, wanting to get this over with. She wasn't sure what to say about the last time they spoke, but today wasn't the day to do it. For the first time ever, she was going to visit her parents' graves.

After they apparated, Kim felt even worse. How could she stop talking to Sirius when she picked on Pansy all the time? Visiting her parents was clearly one of the hardest things he had ever done, and her not talking to him only made it worse.

The four of them appeared just outside the cemetery, and Sirius seemed to become tenser with every step. If Remus wasn't there, they surely would have fled and went for ice cream by now.

As if he couldn't believe it, Sirius sunk to his knees at the sight of the headstone of her parents. Completely heartbroken, he stared at it as if he was staring right through the grave. He didn't even react when Remus crouched down next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. All the way there, Sirius had been clutching a scrap of parchment but once he was on the ground, he let it go.

Kim couldn't help but pick it up and became more horrified as she read it. Sirius wrote about how he sometimes thought he saw her parents out of the corner of his eye if he was in a public area. And how Harry has Lily's smile while she writes print in chicken scratch but signs her name in cursive beautifully, just like James. He wrote that it was his fault that they were dead, and that he still believes the nightmares of everyone telling him so, no matter how much Remus told him not to.

"Do you want to try to find the oldest headstone?" Harry asked quietly once he caught what she was doing. Kim flinched guiltily. That was something she would ask, and she supposed he was trying to distract her.

"Su-sure." Kim snuck a peek at Sirius, feeling her heart sink when she saw that he was starting to tear up. She'd throw away the letter and tell him it blew away in the wind. Then he won't know that she started reading it.

After they walked for a few minutes in silence, Harry pointed to a dirty, crumbling tombstone. "This one's from the 1300s."

Kim tried to smile. If she wasn't feeling so crumby, she'd challenge him to find an even older one. "Do you think Sirius thinks I hate him?"

"No." Harry spoke a little too quickly for her liking. "Sometimes I, erm, think he needs reminding that you like him."

 _Great,_ Kim thought. She was the worst goddaughter ever.

After almost an hour, and finding a few graves from the early 1200s, Kim and Harry distantly heard Remus calling their names. Sirius's eyes were really red, and he seemed to want to act like nothing happened once they found them but couldn't bring himself to say anything.

Kim couldn't think of anything to say either but still felt like a jerk. And so, to everyone's surprise, she ran over to him and hugged him tightly.

Sirius jumped but hugged her back after hearing a muffled, "I'm sorry."

"Not to worry, Kimmy," he said hoarsely. "I'll get you back at the Yule Ball."

Kim wasn't sure how to respond to that as she pulled away. Eventually, she settled for chattering his ear off as they walked to her parents' favorite pub.

"And Blaise says Draco's mad at me," she finished outside the pub. "I really don't care, but I think Pansy was faking it. I didn't push her that hard. She should've been able to get up without help."

"It's because you pushed her into a bush, and she's sick," Harry snapped. "She doesn't have a lot of energy." He ran a hand through his hair when everyone stared at him. Sure, his tone was a little nasty, but sometimes it bothered him that people thought he wasn't capable of anger since he didn't let his temper get the best of him often. The last time he was truly angry was when he was looking for Remus in June. "Forget it."

"She called me a clown," Kim defended with a tiny, almost nonexistent, twinge of guilt. "If she leaves me alone, I'll, er, probably leave her alone."

Harry rolled his eyes and walked into the pub. "Gee, thanks."

* * *

Later that night, Kim and Blaise decided to sneak into the Dungeons' Common Room while the names were being called out for the Triwizard Tournament. With all the excitement that was going on, they didn't think anyone would notice their absence.

"I just… Never thought of visiting their grave," Kim confessed while they sat on a leather black sofa. "Is it bad that I kind of didn't want to? I miss them, but I didn't _know_ them. I kind of felt like I was insulting Remus and Sirius because I couldn't make myself as sad as them."

"You can't make yourself grieve." Blaise fiddled with a loose string on his robes. He hardly ever thought about his father, who died a few weeks before he was born. The only time that he really did was when he got jealous of his friends doing things with their fathers.

Kim hummed in agreement and then repositioned herself so that she was in his arms and leaning her head in the crook of his neck. "Do you think there's life after death? Like that they're still out there somewhere. Even if they aren't watching."

"I don't know," Blaise said honestly. "I hope so."

Kim sat up and turned to stare at him. She expected him to say yes and to say something wise like he always did when they were being serious. However, she didn't want to push him and cause him to say that he didn't believe, so she changed the subject. "Why didn't you want to see the champions being picked? I dragged you away from a once in a life time event."

Blaise brought his brows together like he didn't understand why she was asking. Maybe she just wanted him to say what she wanted to hear. It was the truth, so it couldn't hurt. "Because you needed me here."

She smiled through the tears that she wanted to come out in Godric's Hollow. Pulling him closer to her, she kissed him softly before whispering, "I wish I could tell my mum about you."

Blaise laughed nervously as they leaned back together, almost lying down with Kim on top of him. "I wish I could freak your dad out like I do Sirius."

Kim wrinkled her nose and wiped her eyes. Poor Padfoot. "I love you."

Blaise froze, terrified and elated at the same time. Before kissing her again, he replied, "I love you too."

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry was doing his best to pretend he didn't notice that Blaise and Kim were both missing. Hopefully Professor Snape would be too focused on the champions to notice. He liked Blaise and wasn't too keen on the idea of Snape searching for and finding him.

The event seemed to be going well enough. Draco and Pansy laughed to themselves when Cedric Diggory's name was called out, and it was almost like the summer, when Pansy was carefree and happy. Or at least pretending to be.

Harry supposed if he had been at Hogwarts the first three years that he would've seen this coming. All the champions were picked out, and everything seemed to be going perfectly.

Soon enough, the Goblet of Fire turned red again and sparks started shooting out of it, making the cheering crowd start to quiet down. Like the previous times, a long flame jumped out, releasing fourth piece of parchment.

As if it could fly out and hurt someone, Professor Dumbledore quickly grabbed the parchment but was hesitant to read it. Harry swore when he bellowed, "Kimberly Potter!"

The stunned silence was followed by murmurs when Kim didn't stand up. Hoping she had returned, Harry scanned the Gryffindor table, only to see her friends looking for her at his own. Wonderful.

No one else was doing anything as the minutes ticked by at an agonizing pace. He didn't decide to speak up until Dumbledore started shouting Kim's name again.

As loudly as he could, which wasn't very loud because of his nerves, Harry forced himself to call out, "She's not here!"

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I'll give you a hint. With the markings, Kim also has one on the top of her head, from writing on the wall, and the back of her left knee, from writing the letter, but she doesn't know they're there. Anyone notice the pattern? It'll be revealed after the Second Task! :) Please review!**


	10. Competing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you LilyEvansDouble for reviewing!**

 **A/N: Just explaining something. Crouch Jr. didn't make Kim put her name in by controlling her. I always figured in the books/movies that he ripped Harry's name off something he turned in in class.**

Chapter 10 Competing

Maybe she and Blaise were moving a little too fast. Maybe. Kim didn't have much time to think about it when Severus magically lit all the candles in the Common Room to reveal her lying on top of Blaise with his hands well… She still had her shirt on. She could say that much.

"KIMBERLY!"

From the shock of Severus screaming and the lights coming on so quickly, Kim screamed and threw herself off the couch as if he was throwing grenades at them. She wouldn't put sending a few hexes their way past him.

It was cowardly she knew, especially since she just told Blaise loved him, but Kim couldn't help trying to crawl away on her hands and knees. Luckily, that drew Severus's attention away from Blaise. He pointed her wand in the air to send her floating above the sofa.

"Professor—" Blaise tried while Kim kicked her feet but was too scared to say anything.

"Shut up, Mr. Zabini," Severus spat. "I'll deal with you later." With a thump, he let Kim fall to the ground. "Come with me, Kimberly. You're in more trouble than your pea sized brain can imagine."

Kim sat up and turned bright red when she reached behind her and rehooked her bra. She smiled nervously when Severus stared her down like he wanted nothing more than to hex her unconscious. She was so dead.

"We weren't going to do anything," she babbled as they started heading out. "Well, anything else…" She gulped as Severus remained silent. "I promise I'll never do it again!"

Once he was sure that Blaise didn't follow, Severus stopped walking and grabbed Kim by her shoulders so hard that she winced. "Your name came out of the Goblet tonight, Kimberly. Care to explain?"

"What? Why?" If she didn't know Severus, she'd say he was having one on her. Her name couldn't come out of the Goblet. She wasn't seventeen!

Severus squeezed her shoulders harder. "Putting your name in the Goblet is like signing a magically binding contract, Kimberly—"

"But I didn't!" she yelled, trying to wiggle herself out of his grasp. Severus always thought the worst of her. "I think if I managed to enter myself, I would have gone to the event to see it, Severus!"

Severus didn't say anything until he started dragging her to Dumbledore. "There's no way out of it. You'll _have_ to compete. What? Did you think this was funny?"

Starting to get angry, Kim dragged her feet, trying to make him stop. "Why aren't you ever on my side, Severus? You always think I'm doing something bad!"

"Because you are!" he barked. He stopped, nearly causing Kim to fall into him. There was a funny look in his eyes that she couldn't quite place. "People have _died_ in this Tournament, Kimberly. The age limit was set for a reason!"

Catching him off guard, Kim roughly tore himself from his grasp. "That doesn't matter because I'm not competing!"

"Don't you get it?" Severus yelled. "Now you _have_ to Kimberly!"

"No, I don't!" she screamed back. "If it's a contract, then I didn't sign it!"

They stared at each other, both equally upset. Kim because she didn't know what the hell was going on and Severus because he thought she tried to pull a James Potter worthy prank.

"I don't care if the tooth fairy put your name in!" Severus snarled. " _Your_ name came out, _you_ have to compete."

That was completely unfair and didn't make the slightest sense. Therefore, Kim refused to believe him and was becoming equally angry. "Maybe if you would listen to me, you could find who really put my name in and make them compete instead!"

"It doesn't work like that," Severus muttered. He didn't want to believe her and tried to tell himself that she was starting to cry only because he was yelling at her so much. That was much easier than the alternative. If there was a Death Eater in the school, then there was yet another plot to kill her and hundreds of lives were at risk in the process.

"Where are Remus and Sirius?" the brat demanded, wanting to see two people that she knew would believe her. She scrubbed at her eyes rather quickly, as if he wouldn't notice if she moved fast enough.

Severus took a deep breath. Dealing with Black was going to be a delight. "Considering the fact that it took half an hour to find you, because none of the faculty took into consideration the fact that Mr. Zabini was also nowhere in sight, I would say that Lupin is trying to stop Black from fighting either Professor Dumbledore or Karkaroff."

"I'm not competing," Kim said stubbornly as they continued their trip to Dumbledore in tense silence.

* * *

Surely, Kim thought, once they reached Dumbledore and the other champions, an argument would erupt the moment she set foot in the room. To her shock, however, the guy that Fred and George were talking to at the World Cup rushed over to her, looking as happy as could be. Ludo, she thought his name was.

"Amazing!" Ludo grabbed Kim's arm and yanked her away from Severus, not hearing (or at least ignoring), Sirius literally growling at him. Numb, she let herself be led to the other champions. "May I present—as unbelievable as it may seem— the _fourth_ champion!"

Silence. Kim thought Krum looked like he could smash her with his fist, while Cedric frowned like he didn't understand. Fleur Delacour, who Kim thought had to be the most beautiful girl in the world, merely laughed awkwardly. "Meester Bagman, if you are goin' to pull such a joke, at least find someone who is not in ze first year."

"I am not _that_ short!" Kim snapped, momentarily forgetting what was happening. Fleur glared at her, so Kim glared back. After a split second, the older girl smiled warmly, like she had passed some sort of test by not breaking eye contact.

But Ludo Bagman was too excited really notice or acknowledge how serious the situation was. "This is no joke, Miss Delacour! Just when we thought the ceremony was over, Kimberly Potter's name shot out of the Goblet!"

Krum chuckled darkly. "She is too young. She will die in the very beginning."

"Hey!" Sirius put his hands on Kim's shoulders, trying to gently lead her away to where the headmasters were arguing. "She isn't going to die because she isn't competing! The Goblet isn't designed—"

"It haz been tampered with!" Madame Maxime shouted. Kim supposed it was a little mean, but she wondered how she could walk over to them so gracefully when she was so tall that her head was nearly to the ceiling. She jabbed a finger at Ludo. "And someone like _you_ would be stupid enough to do it!"

Although he nearly fell down, Ludo kept a goofy smile on his face. "Tamper? Miz Maxime—"

 _"Madame!"_ she yelled in offense. She turned to Dumbledore. "What iz zis idiot doing 'ere?! What iz going on?"

"Obviously Dumbledore is trying to guarantee victory!" Karkaroff hissed. " _Two_ champions? That is against the rules."

"Oh yes," Severus drawled. Since she could hear the obvious sarcasm, Kim wondered how he could go from accusing her to defending her that quickly. "Dumbledore is going to force a victory with a fourteen year old witch against students who are of age and nearly fully trained wizards."

"Or maybe this is an opportunity for someone to please his master!" Sirius left Kim and charged over to Karkaroff. He was so close that their noses almost touched. That is, until Sirius pushed the professor. "What do you think you can do her in?"

"Sirius," Remus said tiredly. "He's not going to admit anything. And she can't get out of it."

Kim paled. No. Remus wasn't supposed to say that. He was supposed to get her out of competing. Everyone would argue for a little bit, realize that it was a big mistake, and send her back to Gryffindor Tower to act like it never happened.

Before she could run, Dumbledore asked quietly, "Did you enter yourself in the Tournament, Kim? Or ask someone to do it for you?"

"No!" Before Kim knew it, she started rambling. "I was with Remus and Sirius all day. And I failed my History test, so Hermione had me in the library all day yesterday. And erm, I was only paying attention to stuff about the Tournament when Fred and George—"

"I believe you." Again, Dumbledore was quiet, but because of his words, he might as well as screamed them.

All hell broke loose and everyone started fighting. Remus had to try to stop Sirius and Karkaroff from full on fist fighting, Madame Maxime was yelling at Dumbledore, and Alastor appeared out of nowhere and started picking on Severus. Kim couldn't take it anymore and ran out.

* * *

She felt like she couldn't _breathe._ Normally, she'd have some accidental magic. Sure, she'd have a headache or nose bleed to deal with, but in its own way, she was able to get her feelings _out_. Then she wouldn't have to deal with them anymore. Remus or Madam Pomfrey would fuss over her, and she'd eventually feel a lot better. She'd take the glasses over this any day.

"What are you doing?" Draco smirked as she skidded to a halt near the school's entrance. "Going to celebrate with a swim in the Lake?"

Kim tried to ignore him. If not, she'd either wind up crying in front of him or punching him in the face. "No… I-I'm going to see Hagrid."

Draco laughed like he didn't believe her. "Harry found Blaise. Daphne's still laughing at him."

"Oh?" Kim turned around and started heading for Gryffindor Tower. Hermione would make everything better. "Is Pansy still barking at him?"

"Hey!" Draco grabbed her arm, and Kim was too upset to try to fight him off at first. The laughter was gone from his voice, and he sounded deadly serious. "Did you put your name in?"

"What do you care?" Oh no… She could not cry in front of him. There had to be a way to stop her face from scrunching up like a leaky raisin… "And where are Crabbe and Goyle? You need them to laugh at your shitty jokes!"

"Are you-are you _crying?_ " Draco asked in disbelief. His voice cracked a little, like he was trying to force himself to laugh but couldn't.

Kim threw her hands up in the air. "Everyone's fighting, and Remus and Sirius are the only ones who believe me. But Remus is going to do nothing while Sirius is, I don't know, going to flip a table in my honor or something. And Krum the fucking giant said I'm going to die, and I didn't enter! I barely even know what I'll have to do in the stupid Tournament that Severus says people died in, so yeah, I'm a little upset!"

"Wait." Draco raised his eyebrows as far as they would go. "They're actually making you compete? You? Who lost a duel with a mannequin in our last Defense class?"

"Thanks for the confidence boost!" she sobbed. "Between you and Krum, now I know I can do it!"

"Okay. Er, well… I don't think you'll die. Just get seriously hurt as usual." Draco flinched when that only made her cry harder. He couldn't help it! After last year, they didn't know how to talk to each other anymore, and he was starting to panic. Why did it always have to be her? "Stop! Stop! I'll walk you to that stupid Tower, okay?"

After a minute or two, she stopped crying but kept sniffling and resembled a cat who had water thrown on her. "Where's Blaise?"

Draco narrowed his eyes, making a face like she insulted him. "Trying to figure out how to hide from Severus because he got caught fondling you."

Kim was so glad that her face was probably already red from crying. No wonder Pansy and Daphne were laughing at Blaise. "Don't give me the crap you gave me about the Muggle last year. I'm not in the mood, and you snog a pug."

Draco glared at the ceiling and tried to ignore her last comment. "Muggles are like animals. You should know." He grabbed her arm again and started leading her up the stairs. "C'mon. No one will bother you if we act like we're talking."

Kim snorted. "Don't give me that macho crap, Draco. Krum's knuckle is about the size of your chest."

Draco pretended to laugh. If she was mad at him, at least she wouldn't worry about the Tournament and cry. "Oh? You seem rather fixated on Krum. Should I tell Blaise to worry?"

"Cedric Diggory could kick your arse too," Kim snapped. "And Fleur Delacour. They'll kill you and drag me away to torture me because they think I cheated!"

"Oh because you're such competition." Draco smirked. "Didn't you just learn to tie your shoes?"

"No!" Kim gritted her teeth. She could tie her laces at seven! "But I'm sure you had trouble once Dobby was freed, and he didn't have to tie them for you!"

"Dobby was useless." Draco stuck his nose in the air. "He should have been freed years ago."

"So should that eagle owl you neglect!" Kim shot back. "Do you really put gloves on just to take a letter from him?"

"Harry told me about the time Black left the seat up, and you fell in the toilet." Draco smiled at the memory. "Is it true that they had to call Mrs. Weasley to pull you out?"

"Well I wasn't about to let one of them do it!" Kim pouted when Draco threw his head back and laughed. "Harry told me that your room smells like cheese!"

"First of all, what? Second of all, you've been in my room." Draco snickered when he realized she said that was because she couldn't think of anything else. They walked in silence for a few minutes, and he smiled to himself when he saw that she was trying to think of another insult. He stopped on the seventh floor, a few steps away from the Fat Lady. "You're going to be alright."

Kim blinked in surprise. It took her a second to figure out what he was talking about. With all their bickering, she had forgotten. Maybe that was the point. She didn't even notice that they were already at the Tower until just now. "I—"

"I'll see you later." Draco pursed his lips when the portrait swung upon, and Fred and George came out.

"Look who it is!"

"The fourth champion!" Fred put a hat from the World Cup on Kim's head that was charmed to have Gryffindor colors. Draco just saw her eyes widened before it was stuffed over her face.

"C'mon, Kimmy!" George said excitedly.

"There's a party!"

"We got your favorite cake!"

* * *

"Ugh! I am never eating strawberry shortcake again, Hermione!" Kim threw herself on her bed, feeling too stuffed to so much as change into her pajamas. Since she skipped dinner to talk to Blaise, she didn't have much of a problem with eating three pieces. "Well… At least not for a couple days."

No answer. Kim pushed herself up with her elbows, thinking that Hermione had gone to the toilet, and she was talking to no one. But no, Hermione was brushing her hair before bed as usual, flat out ignoring her. "Hermione? What's the matter?"

Hermione didn't speak until she finished brushing a particularly nasty snarl. "I can't believe you. You could get hurt! _Again._ "

"Hermione." Kim sat all the way up now. There was no way Hermione would… "You know that it wasn't me? Right? I said at the party—"

"The party you were living it up at!" Hermione snapped. "I think you would be a little more upset if you had this suddenly thrown at you! If this was some stupid way to get out of your finals… Ron, Ginny, Neville, and I were worried sick! And you waltz in with Fred and George acting like everything was perfectly alright!"

"It wasn't me," Kim said quietly, getting too upset to say anything else. Having fun and eating cake was much easier than sulking in bed all night. She felt better squabbling back and forth with Draco and didn't want to cry over it anymore.

Still brushing her hair, Hermione let out a frustrated growl and rolled her eyes. "I could tell by Snape's face when he looked at the slip of parchment that it was your handwriting—"

"Really?" Kim yelled, starting to get fed up. "Because I've been hearing that a lot lately! Maybe the same person who wrote on the wall and the same person who wrote that letter to Sirius did it!"

"You mean you?" Annoyed, Hermione threw her brush down. "Every year, Remus and Snape have to rush to save you and… Do you know how much your friends worry when you get hurt? Did you think about that when you entered the Tournament?"

"I didn't enter!" Kim yelled, suddenly wanting to scream at the top of her lungs. Her best friends had to believe her! If stupid Draco believed her, then Hermione definitely had to.

Hermione huffed and started pulling back her covers. "Well I'm done worrying about you. Especially if you're going to look for danger! I mean, fine. It isn't getting out of exams. Are you still jealous of Harry?"

"What?" Jumping off the bed and fist fighting Hermione was suddenly really tempting. So now she thought this was a desperate bid for attention? Sure, she was jealous of Harry at first, but she wasn't about to risk her life over it! "You know what? Don't talk to me!"

Hermione laid down and turned her back to her. "Gladly."

* * *

By the end of the first week of November, Kim was feeling the pain of not talking to Hermione. Her Gryffindor friends were caught in the middle and the only one willing to sit with her every class was Neville, which annoyed Blaise to no end. Kim was tempted to tell him to go ahead and hang out with them too, but she had a feeling that Hermione would be mad at him for not doing so in the first place. Plus, it felt good to have someone in Gryffindor who was completely on her side, and she certainly wasn't going to do something that could make Hermione feel better.

On top of all that, Lavender and Parvati refused the task of waking her up in the morning, so she had to put her alarm under her bed, to guarantee she would get out of it. That didn't always work, and Kim found herself missing breakfast more often than not.

But when she didn't, poor Neville served as a wall of separation between the two of them. Kim was in too much of a foul mood to really care. And even though she knew it would never happen, she wanted Neville to tell Hermione that she was being a jerk.

She was torn away from her not so nice thoughts Friday morning when Fleur Delacour approached her. Since a majority of the school thought she cheated, she braced herself for a verbal assault.

"You know zey are going to be taking ze pictures of us next week?" Fleur asked, frowning when Kim's eyes widened. "I need you zere with me. Ze others. Ze boys. I do not like zem. I like you."

Slowly, Kim slid her eyes to Ron. If anyone badmouthed Krum, he gave them a full lecture on how great a Quidditch player he was. Not today, she supposed because Ron was giving Fleur a slack jawed stare that he was sure to be embarrassed about later.

"You like me?" Kim asked numbly, too shocked to get excited. Ginny snorted, and Hermione remained painfully silent.

Fleur paused, probably mentally making sure she used the correct English phrase. "Yes. If ze boys stick together, we stick together."

"Really?" Since Ginny's back was turned to Fleur, only Kim could see her cover her mouth to keep from laughing at them. She sent a swift kick to her friend's shin and tried not to wince when it was almost instantly returned. "Why don't you like Cedric?"

Fleur shrugged and sat next to Ginny. Ron, who was across from her, looked ready to faint. "It iz not important. Will you let me cut your hair for ze pictures? I will cut ze split ends, and ze style will be very pretty."

Kim almost opened her mouth to say that only Hermione cuts her hair. But she closed it when she reminded herself that she and Hermione weren't speaking. Hermione was staring straight ahead, acting like no one was talking. "I don't like it above my chin. And the bangs have to stay."

"I know how to grow it with magic." Fleur rose from her seat. "So we will try lots with my seester Gabrielle."

Kim bit her lip, waiting for Hermione to stand up and say it was her job. When it was clear that her friend wasn't going to, she stood up too. "Okay. But I have an ugly scar."

"Ze scar iz not ugly!" Fleur said loudly as they left, as if her word was law.

Like vultures, Lavender and Parvati swooped in the moment they were gone. Ron groaned and started piling his plate high with bacon, wanting no part in the gossip.

"We know why Fleur Delacour doesn't like Cedric Diggory," Lavender said knowingly.

Parvati nodded. "My sister is in Ravenclaw with Diggory's girlfriend, Cho Chang."

"And Cho was telling her best friend that Cedric thinks Kim is annoying," Lavender whispered.

"What a surprise." Hermione didn't look at them as she spoke and kept her eyes focused on her French toast as she cut it into small, bite sized pieces. Neville scowled at her words but didn't say anything.

"Anyway…" Parvati glared at her. "Apparently Krum asked what he thought of her. And Cedric told the truth. That he doesn't hate her, but he just doesn't like her. That she's too loud for his tastes."

"Krum thought it was funny." Lavender leaned in, getting ready for the juicy part. "So Fleur flipped out on them. She yelled at Krum for having the three of them have dinner in the kitchens without inviting Kim yesterday. And she told Cedric too keep his thoughts to himself."

Parvati sighed at the last part. "To be fair, Cedric did apologize. _And_ he was just saying his opinion. But Fleur was too upset to care."

Ginny laughed. "Probably because people say don't often say nice things about her. She's as snooty as a Malfoy."

Lavender shrugged. "Either way, it looks like the Tournament is going to be boys versus girls."

* * *

"Aha!" Sirius grinned when Hedwig brought a letter to the breakfast table. When he saw that it was addressed to him and not in Harry's handwriting, he couldn't help but get excited. "This one isn't like the last. I can feel it."

Remus smiled into his coffee. "Just don't tell her that you flipped the table, Padfoot. She knows she has to compete. That's all that matters from that, er, meeting is that she has to compete."

"I did it for her," Sirius grumbled like it was nothing too out of the ordinary. The only reason they weren't currently at Hogwarts was because he and Remus had been sneaking around Knockturn Alley lately, trying to overhear information on why Kim was entered. "I didn't see Snape flip a table."

Remus rolled his eyes and kept scanning the newspaper. "I think we should stop by for the weighing of the wands. The papers are hinting that Rita Skeeter's going to be there."

Sirius mumbled under his breath that Rita wasn't coming within a mile of his goddaughter as he opened the letter. He took a few minutes to read it before yelling, "Damn it!"

"What now?" Remus dared to ask. Molly said that Ginny told her that Hermione and Kim were fighting. He hoped that the pair would work it out on their own.

Sirius groaned and threw his head on the table. "The one time I have to be on his side! The one time!"

Remus smiled. "You agree with Severus?"

Furious, Sirius sat up and backhanded the letter. "Every time Kimmy tries to spend some alone time with Blaise, Snape swoops in and gives him detention! She wants me to get him to stop! I can't do that!"

"Are you saying that you think Severus is doing the right thing?" Remus feigned surprise. He would defend poor Blaise, but he had a feeling there was a good reason that Severus was willing to punish someone from his own House. That and the fact that it was killing Sirius to agree with him.

Sirius narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, trying to force himself to feel otherwise. "N-no. He's wrong. Kimmy really cares for Blaise…"

"And?" Remus prompted, doing his best not to laugh.

"Arggh!" Sirius smacked his head back on the table. "She's just a baby, Remus! She should be like Harry and deny her feelings!"

"Oh?" Remus couldn't help letting a small laugh escape. "So Severus is right to try to keep them apart?"

"NO! Snape's wrong! He's always wrong!" Sirius grabbed a piece of toast and shoved half of it in his mouth so he wouldn't have to answer.

Remus laughed and abandoned his newspaper to tease Sirius some more. This was the closest Sirius and Severus had ever gotten to agreeing on something. He had to enjoy the moment while it lasted.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry Hermione fans! (I'm one too.) But I think friends who are as different as Kim and Hermione are bound to butt heads, especially with Hermione's crush on Ron. Please review!**

 **A/N: Sorry for a few hours delay. I was in professional development Friday and all weekend. :P**


	11. Avoiding

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you LilyEvansDouble, Slytherin's Strumpet, and Emarye for reviewing!**

 **A/N: See if you guys can catch my Twilight reference!**

Chapter 11 Avoiding

A week later, Kim and Hermione were still avoiding each other. They would steal glances at each other once and a while, but neither of them admitted that they were sick of not talking to each other. Kim tried to hide and spend as much time with Fleur as possible while Ron said that Hermione became obsessed with house elves again and refused to eat on Sunday, stating that they should have at least one day off.

Ron was messenger boy, Ginny usually rolled her eyes at the two of them, and Neville tried to get Kim to talk to Hermione. So far, he had no such luck.

"I know she'll apologize the second you talk to her," Neville tried for what must've been the hundredth time. He had more patience than she did, Kim had to admit. If the roles were reversed, she would have literally shoved him into Hermione by now.

But they weren't so Kim haughtily stuck her nose in the air. "Sorry. I'm busy. Fleur's teaching me how to do manicures."

Blaise, who foolishly offered his hand, winced when she stopped paying attention and started filing at his skin. "I thought you said you didn't care about your nails!"

"I don't." Kim frowned at the small cuts on his fingers from when she tried to take a hangnail off. "But if I suddenly do, then I'll be prepared."

"Ze nails are important!" Fleur said loudly before Blaise could object. "Kim-m _ee_ 's nails look like ze caveman's!"

Blaise jumped when Kim started butchering his cuticles. "Yes. And I love my caveman girlfriend. Listen, Kim. I know you're slowly ripping my hands to shreds because you don't want to talk to Hermione, but I also know that you miss her. And because of that, you should at least try to make up with her."

"It's her _fault,_ " Kim pressed. "If _I_ did that to _her,_ you'd tell me to go find her and apologize!"

"Hermione can't help it. She doesn't have an awesome boyfriend like me to give her advice," Blaise teased, only shutting up when Kim held up two bottles of gold and scarlet nail polish.

"Kim. Friends, zhey are stubborn." Fleur grabbed Blaise's hand and started healing a few of the cuts with her wand. "But sometimes you have to fight for ze good ones. Like we fight for ze Tourament. And we will win ze Tournament."

Kim looked at Neville, who shrugged tiredly and only wanted everything to be back to normal again. Unfortunately, she wasn't ready for that yet. Not with the Cedric Diggory posters Daphne Greengrass put around school, or the fact that something was wrong with Severus's arm and he wasn't telling her about it. These were things that Hermione would usually help her with, and she was too hurt to admit it. She sighed. "Maybe later."

* * *

"C'mon Hermione," Ginny whined in the library, earning herself quite a few shushes. She lowered her voice into a whisper. "This has gone on too long! And we both know this isn't about Kim's name coming out of that stupid Goblet!"

Hermione stopped writing mid-sentence, causing a pool of ink to form in the middle of her parchment. "It is. Her reckless behavior—"

"You mean the fact that she'll jump all over Ron when you aren't brave enough to," Ginny said lightly, as if it were nothing. It took a lot of effort, but she was able to keep a straight face when Hermione turned bright red. "I think if she even tried to snog Ron, that he'd puke all over her."

"I don't know what you're talking about Ginny." Hermione tried to force herself to continue writing. "Kim is a very beautiful girl."

Ginny snorted. "Yeah. To guys who fancy her. Do you know how many boys I've had to Bat Boogey Hex for calling her a scrawny imp? Look, I'm not calling her ugly. I think she's pretty too. What I'm saying is that sometimes Ron sees her as more of a sister than he does me."

"I don't care about that." Obviously that wasn't the case because Hermione seemed ready to snap her quill in half. "It's like we're a family, and she's _always_ the baby."

"And you're always the stuffy aunt!" Because of her harsh tone, Ginny flipped her hair back and joked, "I'm the cool cousin that everyone loves."

"You mean the big sister that everyone's afraid of," Hermione muttered, keeping her eyes on her outline.

Ginny shrugged. "Even better."

Hermione gritted her teeth and tried to stay focused on her work but found it hard with Ginny staring her down. Frustrated, she growled before saying, "Fine. I'll talk to her… as soon as I finish studying."

"Which is never." Annoyed, Ginny huffed and rose from her seat, slamming the chair into the table. "I'll see you later, Hermione."

* * *

When Kim left Potions for the pictures that Fleur mentioned, she found herself immediately surrounded by Ludo and a familiar woman that Ginny would later describe as tacky. Kim thought she was very… colorful, was the nicest word she could think of.

"Ah, Kimberly." Ludo rubbed his hands together, grinning like an idiot as usual. "How's it going? Preparing yourself for the Tournament? A lot of people are counting on you, you know."

 _Like who?_ Kim thought, almost grumpily. Why'd they have to pull her out of Potions? They should have asked her, so it could be moved to when she had History. "Erhm… No?"

"Would you like to talk about it?" the woman gushed, almost like she wanted to pounce on her. Kim tried to ignore her and stand on her tippy toes to try to see if Fleur was there yet.

"No. She wouldn't." Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Sirius loomed over the two of them. "Neither of my kids would, Skeeter. So don't bother looking for Harry. He might be too polite to say no, but I'm certainly not."

As if she couldn't feel the anger coming off him in waves, Skeeter blinked in surprise. Her bejeweled eyes focused on Remus, who was hovering in the background. "Mr. Lupin? How do you feel about the rumors regarding the new werewolf laws expected for next year? I'm thinking about doing a side piece on the Ministry experimenting on animals."

"He doesn't want to comment either!" Sirius spat, so overprotective that Kim thought he might explode. "However, if you want to talk about how terrible you are, I have a few hours to spare!"

"Hey Sirius." Kim started slinking away, suddenly realizing what Harry meant when he said Sirius could be embarrassing. "I-I'm gonna go get my wand checked out. And Fleur probably wants to readjust my curls for the millionth time…"

Skeeter put a hand on her shoulder, resting her bright green nails on Kim's black school robes. "Don't you want to talk about why you entered in the Tournament? I'd like to know how you think your parents would react."

"No… No…" Kim glanced at Fleur, who was glaring at Skeeter as if she wanted to fight her. "Sorry but erhm, I don't like you very much… So I have to go… be with someone I do like…"

"Just a quick word," Skeeter tried, still unfazed that she was surrounded by people who didn't think too highly of her.

"How about a quick duel?" Sirius snarled.

Kim sighed and practically ran over to Fleur. This was going to be fun.

* * *

 _ **Kimberly Potter: Brat or Trouble Child?**_

 _ **By Rita Skeeter**_

 _Savage, obnoxious, and not house trained. These are just some of the words used to describe the Girl-Who-Lived by her classmates Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson. As you may have guessed, the famed child is not well liked among her peers. But is it her fault?_

 _Her roommates Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil describe her as disorganized but passionate. Her once best friend Hermione Granger chose not to comment. I find this very concerning._

 _At the tender age of twelve, the Girl-Who-Lived has forced herself into the Triwizard Tournament, blatantly ignoring the rules set for her own safety so she could be declared champion. Is this an aggressive attempt for fame or a desperate cry for attention?_

 _At the Weighing of the Wands, I encountered the Girl-Who-Lived's surrogate father, the recently freed Sirius Black. At my inquiry for a quick interview, he verbally assaulted me, calling me a "desperate bottom feeder."_

 _Red faced, he screamed, "No one is going to talk to my goddaughter or my godson without my permission!"_

 _As he became more and more hostile, I began to wonder who_ _ **is**_ _allowed to talk to "his" children? Does everyone who wants to be a friend to Kimberly and Harry need Black's permission? Are they afraid of their own godfather with his temper and obvious need for control?_

 _During the summer, the Girl-Who-Lived was yet again ripped away from her Muggle family, this time permanently. One has to wonder, did she agree?_

 _The Muggles, who are the only remaining family of the slain Lily Potter n_ _é_ _e Evans, raised Kimberly since she was still in nappies. Is the only reason they were forced to give up their adopted daughter because they are Muggles?_

 _Imagine being torn away from your parents and forced to live with a man still recovering from his wrongful imprisonment. A man who you barely know and who bares deep psychological scars. The experience would be terrifying for anyone, especially a young girl._

 _So I ask you, the next time you want to shake your head at twelve year old Kimberly Potter, pause and think for a moment. Perhaps instead of judging her extreme immaturity, you may stop and ask her, "Is everything alright at home?"_

 _A simple question could save her life._

Harry stared at the newspaper opened mouthed after Draco handed it to him. "Wh- _why_?"

Draco shrugged and threw himself on the leather sofa. "Because Kim and Black are Gryffindors. They let their emotions get the best of them and don't know how to handle people like Skeeter."

"Sirius should sue her for defamation!" Harry said angrily. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Daphne trying to escape. "And Daphne, what the hell?"

Like she couldn't imagine what he was so upset about, Daphne threw her hands in the air. "What? I saw an opportunity to insult her, and I took it. You would understand if you were normal and hated someone."

"Yeah, thanks," Harry snapped. "Now everyone thinks I live with an abusive psychopath and an attention seeker who pisses on the floor."

Daphne frowned. "Don't you? At least she didn't mention the wolf."

Harry put his face in his hands to try to calm down and control his building anger. Earlier in the week, Skeeter had approached him, but he got nervous and could only stutter. He wished he had taken the woman's notebook and ripped it to shreds. "Look, Daphne. Can you do me a favor and stop with the posters and the comments? It bothers her."

"So?" Daphne laughed to herself and started heading out. "Maybe I'll take them down if she finds Pansy and me and _begs_ us to. Maybe."

* * *

While Harry was trying his best not to start screaming at Daphne, Kim was getting a lecture from Alastor over tea in his office, which was a lot worse than it sounded. Something was… _off_ about him. She was beginning to think he had developed a drinking problem since the last time she really spoke to him.

"So I'm guessing the Weasley boy told you his brother is here?" he asked before taking a large swig from his flask.

Kim nodded. This was starting to get awkward. He was drinking like whatever was in his flask was water. "Er, Severus never gave me back my Cloak. But I know Charlie, and Fleur told me this morning."

"Did she now?" Alastor made a noise that Kim supposed was a laugh. "You do know, Kimberly, that if Fleur thought you were any sort of competition, that she wouldn't give you the time of day. And that Krum may only have a snitch bouncing around in his head, but Karkaroff is as dangerous as any snake. Cedric Diggory, or you may know him as Sparkling Dreamboy, is the most magically gifted of the three. He could transfigure one of the dragons into a puppy if he had enough time to work on it."

Kim's eyes widened when she realized that Cedric was the only one who didn't know. That was hardly fair… "But—"

"But do not strategize with Fleur and do not run off and tell Sparkle." Alastor took a swig from his flask and his magical eye started rolling around the room. "You can't trust anyone."

Okay. He was insane. The best course of action would probably be to make a joke and make an excuse to escape. "First of all, Cedric doesn't sparkle. He's just so beautiful that he makes girls' eyes sparkle. Second of all—"

"You aren't taking this seriously, Kimberly," Alastor growled. Kim narrowed her eyes. He used to call her by her nickname. "I'm trying to help you win this."

Fed up, Kim threw her hands in the air. "I don't want to win! I just want to get through it! Do I need your help? Yes. But only because Sirius will crap his pants, Remus will have a heart attack, and Severus will probably poison all the dragons, and they'll replace them with something worse!"

The magical eye was examining every inch of her, but Kim could tell be the normal one that Alastor was considering telling her something, which he ultimately decided against. "What are your strengths? We'll start with that."

"Potions," Kim said automatically. But she couldn't exactly brew something with a dragon now could she? "And… I was really good when Flitwick showed us how to make fireworks come out of our wands last year! That's about it, I guess."

"So you can make soup and sparks? Lovely," Alastor drawled. "I was hoping—"

"And I'm fast." _Be nice._ Why was that so hard? She was used to Alastor's gruffness. Kim took a deep breath. "I can run fast and fly fast. But I can't bring my broom…"

Alastor leaned closer to her, like he was going to tell her a secret. "But you're allowed a wand."

Kim bit her lip, trying to figure out what he wanted her to do. After a moment, she beamed. "Gotcha."

* * *

"What are we doing?" Harry panted after lunch. Kim had them running up and down the grass, and it was starting to get dark.

"I need to get my muscles ready before tomorrow!" Kim gasped out as she ran down the hill. "And I want you to show me how to cast spells while running."

"Um…" Harry stopped running and took out his wand. "It's the same as while being still… You just have to take the time to aim properly."

Kim stopped running and threw herself on the grass. "I'm just going to aim at the sky."

"Okay…" Harry sat down next to her. "Does this have anything to do with the note you passed Diggory in the hallway? Blaise was a little upset because it said Sparkling Dreamboy on it."

Kim tilted her head from side to side, silently saying _Sort of._ "Alastor told me how to make it through the First Task. I've got about twenty hours, so I guess I'll rest up now."

"And you trusted his advice?" Harry asked before he could stop himself. He was still the only one who didn't trust Moody. Well, besides Professor Snape. His friends didn't like their DADA professor either, but they thought he was being paranoid.

Kim spread herself out in the grass like a starfish. "Don't worry, Harry. He's not a psycho like you think. He's just an alcoholic."

"And you trusted his advice?" he repeated.

"Most of it." Kim wrinkled her nose. "Half of it. Well… The part that makes me think I won't be burnt toast tomorrow."

"Really?" The disbelief was clear in Harry's voice with a hint of sarcasm. In his mind, Moody should have been fired by now and replaced by Remus.

But Kim waved him off as if it was no big deal. She was already nervous about tomorrow and knew she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, but she did her best to smile goofily at her brother and say, "Don't worry about it."

* * *

Sirius had already bitten his nails to the point of almost bleeding before they even made it to the stadium. Remus was too quiet to tease him about it, and Severus was a looming black cloud behind them as he walked with the Malfoys. Harry snuck a quick glance at Draco, who merely shrugged. Pansy was practically glued to his arm, so he was doing his best not to look too nervous.

"So do you know what's going to happen?" Harry asked his godfathers to try to make conversation. "Because the most I got out of Kim was that she wasn't going to be burnt toast."

Sirius made a strangled noise while Remus gave him a small smile and forced himself to speak. "Albus said that Mad-Eye helped her. So I think she was trying to tell you, and perhaps herself, that she was going to be alright."

As the Tournament went on, Harry tried his best to stay optimistic. The hardest part was that he was stuck sitting in between Professor Snape and Sirius. If he got too close to Sirius (who looked ready to faint), he had a feeling the man would ask to bite _his_ nails. And Snape… Well he was just plain scary. Of course Kim had to be last.

When Kim finally came out, Harry almost put his face in his hands and groaned. This was why people called her stupid. It wasn't until after they thought she was smashed into the ground that they realized it was part of her plan.

Like she was in some sort of twisted beauty pageant, Kim smiled as widely as she could and started waving to the crowd, seemingly paying no attention to the giant, fire breathing dragon that was eying her up for her next meal.

"She's definitely James's daughter," Remus muttered, almost to himself. Harry looked at him to see his hands clenched tightly into fists.

The dragon turned its back to her and lifted its enormous tail in the air. As it starting swing its thorny tail down to smash her, Sirius jumped out of his seat and screamed, "MOVE!" as if she could possibly hear her in the sea of the crowd.

A huge dusty cloud filled the stadium as the dragon's tail swung down. Every spectator was silent, thinking Kim had managed to get herself killed in less than two minutes.

As the dirt cleared, however, it soon became clear that Kim wasn't flattened against the ground. Somehow, she must've dodged the tail just in time. Everyone, including the dragon, could see that she was running for her life towards its nest.

The dragon roared furiously at being tricked. Sirius swayed slightly but swatted Remus's hand away when he tried to force him back in his seat.

As soon as she heard the dragon, Kim pointed her wand in the air and started sending fireworks towards its head. She wasn't hurting it exactly, but the noise and the brightness so close to its head temporarily blinded it and rendered it deaf.

Meanwhile, the crowd was distracted as well by the multi-colored clovers, hearts, flowers, and owls that blew up around the Hungarian Horntail's head. They were dazzled by that for a few minutes, and Harry had to force himself to look away to see what Kim was doing.

She was nearly at the nest, pointing her wand in the air and pausing every few seconds to send up another firework. When she finally reached to nest, she nearly collapsed into it. She snatched up the golden egg and sat down tiredly.

But she wasn't done yet and soon found herself face to face with a dragon. On the magical screen at one end of the stadium, everyone could see her eyes widen. She started shaking, but otherwise couldn't move as the dragon breathed a thin cloud of smoke in her face.

"HEY!" Since she got the egg, a few dragon tamers yelled to try to get the dragon's attention. With a huff, she turned away for a moment to see who else was trying to harm her precious eggs. Kim snapped out of it and scrambled away as fast as she could.

The dragon roared again, this time a little desperately since she thought Kim stole one of her babies. She started stomping over to her, and since she wasn't prepared this time, Kim fell and twisted her ankle, almost gagging when the golden egg slammed into her stomach. Luckily the dragon tamers tied the Hungarian Horntail up before she could be eaten. It was finally over.

* * *

Once she was led to the tent, Madam Pomfrey healed her ankle, and Sirius swooped in before she could get one word out. All her friends were buzzing with excitement, but Kim just wanted to take a bath and blow all the dirt out of her nose.

"It was amazing!" Ron jabbered, too animated to glare at Harry like he usually did. "The fireworks were so cool, and no one notice you—"

"Thanks," Kim said tiredly. She wondered if they'd let Ron witness the scoring for her. He'd be more than happy to.

"Sorry, sorry." Not sounding sorry at all, Ginny pushed past the growing crowd in the tent. "I have to borrow the champion for a second."

"Not bloody likely!" Sirius nearly yelled, putting his hands on Kim's shoulders.

Remus smiled tightly. "It's about the 'you know what,' Sirius."

"What?" Kim said loudly while Sirius folded his arms over his chest and grumbled childishly, "I don't care."

Remus ignored him and helped Kim out of bed. "Be careful on your ankle."

Kim rolled her eyes and stopped to smile at Harry, who looked like he wanted to tell her how reckless her plan was. "See? I'm not burnt toast."

"Good to know." Harry ran through his hair. "But you should have conjured a shield or summoned a broom. Instead of you know… Relying on pretty lights and your feet to keep you safe."

Laughing, Kim pinched his cheek, which she knew annoyed him to no end. "Well, I'm not you, Harry. I like flashy lights and tumbling in the dirt."

* * *

Kim almost ran back in the tent when she spotted Hermione waiting for her outside of it. Ginny must've known and was guarding the entrance with her arms folded over her chest as if she were a bouncer twice her size.

The girls stared at each other for a moment, and Kim couldn't have been more happy when Hermione ran over to her and hugged her.

"I'm sorry I was such a stupid prat!" her best friend cried. "I knew I was being stupid a few hours later, but I was too afraid to say anything!"

Kim found herself crying too. "I'm sorry I put that cup of milk under your bed to spoil!"

Hermione decided that it was best to ignore that… She pulled away from the hug. "I thought you had died! Died thinking I hated you!"

Kim shook her head. "I just curled into a ball and tumbled out of the way… Fleur's sister Gabrielle helped me with the gymnastics this morning!"

"This morning?! You only prepared this morning?!"

"It doesn't matter," Kim said quickly. Sirius would have a fit if he heard that. "And I know you don't hate me Hermione. You love me, just like everyone else."

Hermione let out a watery laugh and wiped her eyes. "I hope you're joking... You're my best friend." From behind them, Ginny cleared her throat. "Okay. One of my best friends."

Grinning, Kim hugged Hermione again, not letting go until she was forced to hear her scores. Because of her ankle and needing the dragon tamers to help her escape, she tied in second with Cedric. The only reason she wasn't in third or fourth was because she was able to get the egg so quickly, but honestly, Kim didn't care. She made it through the First Task and got her friend back. In her mind, everything went perfectly.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! So… school started… I will update as much as possible, but if I start updating every other week it's because tests and textbook readings and what not. I have all of GoF and a lot of the rest of the series planned out, so don't think I've given up if I miss a week. :)**

 **I actually split this chapter in two because I've been busy and this chapter was a lot longer than I thought it would be. So, the Yule Ball along with the first character death will be Chapter 13. :)**

 **Please review!**


	12. Preparing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you Guest for reviewing Chapter 10! I wasn't entirely sure what you meant by more credit. Maybe you meant helping Kim out more? He doesn't go back to his role as a double agent until Voldemort returns. I think the only reason he didn't in the real GoF was because he didn't know Crouch was Crouch and was helping Voldemort. But if you tell me specifically what you want, maybe I can add something in. :)**

 **Thank you LilyEvansDouble, Slytherin's Strumpet, and girlwholived- Haley Potter for reviewing Chapter 11!**

Chapter 12 Preparing

"Harry told me that you screamed when you thought I got smashed by the dragon's tail," Kim declared when she entered (forced her way into in his opinion) Severus's office. As usual, she sat down without being invited to.

Severus paused over the essay he was grading and narrowed his eyes. "I know that isn't true, Kimberly, because unlike you, the boy doesn't lie."

Shaking her head, Kim kicked her feet off the chair and sighed dramatically. "You should have screamed. If Ludo Bagman screamed, then you should have screamed at _least._ "

Severus rolled his eyes and resumed grading. "Mr. Bagman has bet a lot of money on you. Your demise would cost him a fortune."

"And I'm worth much more than a fortune to you, Severus," she told him as if it was common knowledge. "You didn't even visit me when it was over!"

Severus clenched his jaw. The brat was getting on his nerves more than usual today. Sarcastically, he drawled, "Oh Kimberly, how will I ever make it up to you?"

Smiling brightly, she ignored his flat tone. "You are going to dance with me at the Yule Ball!"

"No," Severus said instantly, still deadpanned.

Kim glared at him. He could at least pretend to consider! It wasn't _that_ big of a deal. All fathers danced with their daughters. "But Blaise steps on my feet! I won't last all night with him! He already worsened an old bruise on my foot! So you'll save me and—"

"No."

Frustrated, Kim pursed her lips into a thin line. It shouldn't bother her. Dark, gloomy, and miserable was Severus's personality. "Fine! But you'll regret it!"

"Not bloody likely," Severus muttered as she ran off to spread her barbaric terror elsewhere.

* * *

The following weekend, Kim was frowning at the mirror when Remus showed up. She had this really odd bruise on her elbow, kind of like the one on her foot. That one had been there forever, but she had chalked it up to the dance lessons, and Blaise constantly stepping on it. She wasn't so sure about this one though…

"KIM!"

"What's Remus doing here?" Hermione asked from behind her book, meaning _What did you do now?_

Forgetting about the 'X' shaped bruises, Kim threw her arm down and cocked her head to the side. Remus hardly ever yelled. "I don't know… I guess I'll go down and see."

Down in the Common Room, it was obvious that Remus was angry with her. Another rarity. He was staring at her like she did something wrong and that he was waiting for her to apologize. Not knowing what else she could do, Kim waited for him to say what was up.

"If you wanted the Invisibility Cloak back, you just had to ask me, Kim." Remus threw his hands up in the air like he thought she had done something rude or mean instead. "You know telling Sirius that Severus won't let you have it would only cause a fight between those two."

"I didn't tell Sirius," Kim said slowly, getting a strange sense of déjà vu. "Maybe Professor Dumbledore—"

"I saw the letter!" Remus yelled. When she flinched, he softened. "Kim, Albus had to separate them after Sirius shoved Severus, and he hexed Sirius's wand arm immobile. I know you figured Sirius would be on your side but—"

"But I didn't write a letter." Now she realized where this had happened before. Twice actually. No… Three times. "Just like how I didn't write the letter to Sirius about you guys bullying Severus. And just like how I didn't write on the wall in the dungeons! And-and like how I didn't put my name in the Goblet of Fire!"

 _They were in_ _ **your**_ _handwriting,_ Remus was tempted to say, but he knew she didn't put her name in the Goblet. Once he thought more deeply into it, he paled. If the person who wrote on the walls put her name in, the suspect pool was suddenly narrowed down dramatically. "I-I have to go."

"Remus!" Was he really going to leave? _She_ told him what was going on, and he wasn't even going to tell her what he thought about it?!

"I believe you." Remus held up his hands in a motion that said _Calm down._ "But it's nothing for you to worry about."

"Nothing for me to worry about?!" Kim wanted to throw something when he hurried off. What? They let her be the Fourth Champion, but they weren't going to let her find who forced her into it? Fine. Maybe she'd just have to find the guy herself.

* * *

Remus rushed to Albus's office to find Severus and Sirius still screaming at each other. He knew Kim was probably upset with him and part of him felt guilty about. The problem was that he had a hard time accepting that she wasn't going to have the life he had when he was her age. He didn't want her to have to constantly look of her shoulder, worrying about getting hurt. It was hard to admit, but maybe she was going to start having to. He hated it. Her biggest problem should be the Yule Ball, and she already had the Tournament looming over her head. He didn't want her to have to deal with this too. As much as Remus didn't want to admit it, the harsh reality was that she was going to have to sooner rather than later.

Until then, he had to explain his latest theory to Sirius and Severus, who were once again letting the past get the best of them. Hopefully this would shut them up.

"There's no reason for you to not let her have it, _Snivellus!_ "

"Except for the fact that she has an amazing track record for using it for things she shouldn't!"

"Boys—" Albus tried to intervene, but they barely paid him any mind.

"Whoever put her name in the Goblet of Fire is still out there!" Severus snapped. "Not being able to see where she is isn't exactly in the brat's best interests, Albus."

Sirius opened and closed his mouth several times, grappling for a defense. "She-we have the Map! We could find her—"

"You mean when she's already dead?" Severus asked.

Remus almost swore. Mentioning Kim or Harry dying always set Sirius off. And Severus knew that.

Instantly, Sirius charged at him until they were a few inches apart. "Having the cloak isn't going to kill Kimmy! You just don't want her to have it because it belonged to James!"

"It wasn't Karkaroff," Remus nearly shouted before Sirius could punch Severus in the face. "I know that much."

At the sound of his voice, Sirius jumped and Severus flinched so slightly that Remus hardly noticed. They were too caught up in their argument to realize he had entered the room earlier.

"Oh?" Severus said as if he weren't just goading Sirius like he always did. Remus wondered if Sirius would ever figure it out and stop reacting. "Well enlighten us, Lupin. What? Did you threaten him with Azkaban to make him spit out half a dozen names?"

"No…" Sending a warning glance to Sirius, Remus spoke quickly before his old friend could mention that one of those names was Severus's. "Kim had no idea about the letter she supposedly sent this morning. Or the one about our school years. And that letter was sent before Karkaroff even arrived. There has to be a connection."

"Let me see the letter," Albus asked Sirius, able to speak for the first time in a while. Reluctantly, Sirius handed it over.

After a few minutes of confused frowns and detection spells, Albus shook his head. He had to be missing something. "Is it possible she is under the Imperious Curse? Because she definitely wrote this…"

"After second year?" Severus laughed at the thought. "I think even Kimberly would be at least a little alarmed if chunks of time suddenly went missing again."

"She isn't stupid!" Sirius growled, ready to start fighting again.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Far from it. The girl has her head in the clouds, Black. Which is why she acts so immaturely when things don't go her way. She doesn't see it coming."

"Because she's fourteen," Remus muttered. "And how long would it take to write the letter? Not even ten minutes. She could easily chalk that up to losing track of time. Especially if she knows this person and stopped to talk to him."

"I'll use a _light_ Legilimens," Albus said, earning himself a glare from the three men. "She won't even notice. If she's under the Imperious, she won't remember writing the letters and will have small holes in her memories. If it's a forgery, the only holes she will have will be from her second year."

After an outburst from Sirius, a few death glares from Severus, and having to appease worries from Remus, Albus managed to convince them that it was their only option. When he finally got the chance while passing Kim in the halls, he chose not to say anything to them, not wanting to get the girl in trouble. Surprisingly, he had to push to see them, but he could see the memories as clear as day, right down to Kim writing on the walls.

* * *

Kim was still a little annoyed at Remus a few days later, but like when she usually felt crummy, she managed to cheer herself up by spending the day forgetting her problems with Ron. They were currently stomping through the snow, and the biggest problem they were bothering with was Ron's lack of date to the Yule Ball.

"I'm just saying Ron, if you had asked _me_ the way you asked Hermione, I'd send a Stinging Hex to your bits," Kim informed him happily as she kicked some slush his way. "You should have said, 'Hey Hermione, do you wanna go as friends?' Because you honestly just looked like a jerk."

Ron rolled up a snowball, grinning when he smashed it in her hair, and she screamed. "Hermione takes me too seriously. But she didn't have to lie and say she had a date."

Scowling, Kim wiped the snow out of her hair as quickly as she could, doing her best to flick as much ice at Ron as possible. "That's just a nice way of saying no."

"Nice?" Ron laughed at the thought. "Since when is Hermione ever nice? I just thought we'd save ourselves the embarrassment of not having dates."

 _Well, clearly Hermione isn't embarrassed, if she'd rather go by herself than with you,_ Kim thought, for once keeping her mouth shut. Ginny was wrong. Hermione couldn't possibly fancy Ron. "You mean save _yourself_ the embarrassment… Luna doesn't have a date, you know."

"Gee, I wonder why." Frustrated, Ron kicked an abandoned snowman. "No one likes her but you and Zabini!"

"And you!" Without hesitation, Kim pushed Ron into the snowman, feeling some satisfaction when he tumbled into it. "Let me tell you something Ron, Luna's the only girl in the whole school who won't care about those disgusting, smelly robes you have to wear."

After spitting some snowman out of his mouth, Ron took the hand Kim offered to help him up. "Gee, thanks."

Giggling, Kim heaved him up. "You know me, solving the world's problems. And Ron? I can bet you anything that you're going to marry her."

Ron only spoke after she dried him off with several heating charms. "Yeah right. But if she says she has a date, I'll kill you."

* * *

"Mr. Zabini," Severus called out at the end of the last Potions class before Christmas. This was going to be a delight. "A word."

Not caring in the slightest, Mr. Zabini almost cheerfully walked up to his desk as the rest of the students practically ran out. "Professor."

"You do realize," Severus informed him once everyone was gone. "That eyes will be on you Christmas. If you leave with Kimberly—"

"Are you going to dance with Professor Vector?" Mr. Zabini asked slyly. "Because—"

"Do not try to blackmail those who have power over you, Mr. Zabini," Severus warned before the boy could make whatever subtle threat he had in mind. "You will trample Kimberly's feet as much as the ceremony requires, and then, you will respectfully keep your distance for the rest of the night. Is that clear?"

Mr. Zabini frowned, weighing his options. The boy was a terrible dancer, so Severus didn't think he was sacrificing much. "Fine. But I wasn't _planning_ on anything."

"Oh yes, and I'm a fairy princess," Severus said sarcastically. "Keep your hands to yourself, Mr. Zabini. Or I will be forced to discipline you."

"Good to know." The boy started to leave but tensed when he felt Severus's eyes on him. Almost nervously, he added, "Sir."

* * *

To Kim's utter shock, Ron was actually polite when he asked Luna to the ball. She had her usual dreamy smile on her face, but Kim could tell by the spark in her eyes that she was really happy to be able to go because the rules stated that no one under fourteen could go unless they were someone's date. Hermione was in a sour mood for the rest of the day, but Kim thought that was because she suddenly realized she was the only one in their group going alone. Neville and Ginny were going together.

But Kim felt rather full of herself after setting up Ron and Luna, so she figured she could save the day for Hermione too and play matchmaker one more time. This, Remus told her later, was when she should have put a little more thought into things.

"He's really shy," Kim told Hermione the Friday before the Ball in their dormitory. She was already feeling proud of herself for the idea. "And I know it isn't really traditional, but can you ask him to the Yule Ball? I know Harry would be really happy to go with you."

"Really?" Hermione mocked as they got dressed to go to breakfast. "I told you, and everyone else, Kim. I have a date. Plus, I haven't exactly spoken to Harry. And since he spends so much time with Draco, I doubt he thinks highly of me."

"No." Kim completely ignored Hermione saying she had a date. Surely Hermione would tell her if she had a boyfriend. "Harry's had a crush on you since the summer. Which is why you guys haven't talked. He likes you so much that he's too scared to talk to you!"

"I have a date!" Hermione hissed for what she felt was the millionth time. Unfortunately, Kim was too distracted by the gasp behind them to take her seriously.

Having forgotten her scarf, Lavender Brown stood in the doorway to their dormitory with her hand over her mouth. "Harry likes Hermione?! Oh! Hermione! You _have_ to go with him! He's so cute!"

"I have a date!" Hermione yelled, wanting to hex the next person who didn't believe her.

Oh Merlin… Kim suddenly felt sick as Lavender's eyes got wider and wider. "Lav… Tell a soul and I'm shoving spiders in your mouth while you sleep. Live and dead ones."

"I won't," Lavender promised. And for some stupid reason, Kim believed her.

* * *

"Sirius. Wake up!" Wanting to already be at the school, Remus shook him roughly. "Hurry up!"

"Why?!" Sirius moaned into his pillow.

Sighing heavily, Remus ripped the blanket off him. "It's half past noon. And there's been a fight at school—"

Suddenly wide awake, Sirius shot up. His hair was so tangled that Remus would have found it comical if not for the current situation. "What?! Who'd she fight with?! If Snivellus is taking that Parkinson girl's side—"

" _Harry_ ," Remus said loudly, "hexed Gregory Goyle into the Hospital Wing a few minutes ago. Although I will admit that it's entirely Kim's fault."

Sirius blinked sleepily, not sure that he heard right. Harry wouldn't hurt a fly. " _Harry?_ Harry got in a fight? Harry, who apologized to me for tripping over a shoe that I left in the middle of the floor?"

"Yes." Remus thinned his lips. "Because your goddaughter let it get out to the whole school that he fancies Hermione. Goyle made the mistake of asking Harry why he likes a _'mudblood.'_ After a few hours of getting laughed at, Harry hexed Goyle's eyes swollen shut and sent him flying across the Great Hall at lunch."

"Good." Still confused, Sirius walked slowly to his dresser to put some clothes on.

Remus gritted his teeth. Of course Sirius saw nothing wrong with it. "He attacked one of his friends. That isn't good, Sirius. What if they start turning on him?"

Sirius threw on a shirt. "Boys don't work like that. They fight, get it out of their system, and get over this next day. How many times did James hex my ears clogged?"

"Harry isn't James, and they weren't fighting over who is going to copy my homework first." Remus didn't know what Harry would do if he suddenly found himself yet again friendless. "I'm worried about him."

Sirius threw on some jeans and started heading up the stairs to use the bathroom. "Don't be. They're probably already over it."

* * *

Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Sirius and Remus flooed to Albus's office to find Harry unleashing Lily's temper on Kim, who couldn't believe it.

"I'm not even going to that stupid Ball!" Harry shouted. "Remember? I'm going home for Christmas! Or did it just blow over your head when my mom said it because it had nothing to do with you?"

"Er…" Kim glanced at Remus for help, but flinched when she realized he was annoyed with her too. "That was five months ago! I was _trying_ to be nice!"

"Yeah, I know, it's a miracle. Do you want me to call the papers?" Harry snapped.

"I was only talking to Hermione about it," she tried. "How was I supposed to know that Lavender would swoop in?"

"Yeah, imagine her coming into a place where she lives!" Furious, Harry took a step towards her. "And you shouldn't have spoken to Hermione about it because I didn't want her to know! Do you want me to walk up to Draco and tell him that you love him so much you can barely look at him when you're with Blaise?"

Kim turned scarlet. "I-I…"

"Never give a decision a second thought once you get it into your fat head!" Harry yelled. Sick of looking at her, he started to leave. "Merry fucking Christmas!"

Kim (and Sirius) stared opened mouthed as Harry stormed out. They seemed to have forgotten last June, and that while he wasn't quick to anger, once Harry was upset, he was sure to let everyone know. Remus only felt bad when Kim's eyes filled with tears.

"He has your mother's temper," he told her gently. "But he also has her heart. He'll forgive you. And probably apologize."

Kim let out a rather high pitched sob that made Remus cover his ears. "I thought he and Hermione… He's so MEAN!"

Remus held Sirius back when Kim walked away crying. He knew her heart was in the right place, but he wanted her to start thinking before she acted. Hopefully this would teach her to do so.

"Well…" Albus was sitting awkwardly behind his desk the entire time, unable to find a good time to interrupt. "I suppose it's too late to talk about Harry's punishment."

Remus forced himself to smile. "I think he's been through enough for the day, Albus. Christmas is in a few days. Could you just suspend him? I think a few days away will be best. And his mother has been writing to us daily to see when he's going to see them."

"But—" Sirius objected.

"But he'll bite your head off if you talk to him before he cools down," Remus warned. "I'll talk to him when he gets back, but Sirius, he's too humiliated right now. Give him time."

* * *

"Kim-m _ee_ , you are ze busybody," Fleur said bluntly when Kim came to her room pouting after dinner. "'Arry should have smacked you. I would 'ave smacked you!"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Kim grumbled. "I thought we were alone! _Hermione_ would never tell. I should have hogtied Lavender and stuffed her under her bed until Boxing Day!"

Fleur tsked but decided to drop it. Gabrielle smiled but as usual said nothing. Her older sister crawled under her bed and took out the golden egg that she had captured during the First Task. "I do not get it. It just screams and screams! I think it iz a magical creature. I simply do not recognize it."

Kim narrowed her eyes, reminded of her own egg. "Hermione uses it to wake me up in the morning."

"I go to ze library every day," Fleur complained. "But it iz not Beauxbatons' library! No French books! And a section that iz forbidden! It-it does not make sense!"

Dumbfounded, Kim chewed on her bottom lip, relieved to be thinking about this instead of what just happened. "Do you think our eggs would talk to each other?"

"It's singing," Gabrielle whispered. Maybe that was her regular voice, and she was just so quiet that Kim had to strain her ears to hear her. Since Fleur had an accent, she was surprised to hear that Gabrielle spoke in perfect English. "And it always says the same thing. It isn't alive. It's a recording."

Giving up, Fleur tossed her egg onto her bed. "I am lost!"

"Hold on." Kim jumped to her feet. Figuring out the egg was much better than thinking about what she did to Harry. "I'll just ask Alastor. He's crazy, but he might know. And he wants me to win for some reason."

"Alright." Fleur glared at her egg, which was resting on her light blue bedspread. "But you have to tell me. Because if I do not know, I am throwing it in ze lake!"

* * *

Although the altercation involved two members of his house, Severus wasn't going to deal with it until later tonight. Mr. Zabini at least would be on Potter's side because of the brat, so he figured it would work out itself. If not, he would remind Goyle about house unity and give him an O for the semester. The boy was a simpleton, so that should be enough.

"Albus has been rather tight lipped about the letters." Severus entered Moody's office with his wand out, warning the old goat that they were on to him. "I can tell Kimberly is not under the Imperious… Are you lifting the ink from her assignments and arranging the words into something to send to Black?"

Smirking, Moody pointed to his foe glass. "I knew you were coming, Snape. And seeing you in the glass only proves that you aren't trustworthy. You are my enemy."

"Fascinating," Severus drawled. "Perhaps you have so many enemies, Moody, because you are so paranoid that you see everyone as an enemy. Defeats the purpose, doesn't it?"

Moody glanced at his foe glass, and his smile widened disturbingly. He saw the perfect opportunity to ruin Snape further before enacting his final plan to get rid of him. "You are a Death Eater. And you will always be one."

Fed up, Severus let his temper get the best of him. This man had been taunting him and sabotaging him for months for no reason besides the fact that he didn't like or trust him. And for Alastor Moody, that wasn't saying much. "Was! I _was_ a Death Eater! Now I—"

"What?"

Severus felt his blood run cold. He could have sworn he shut the door behind him and locked it with his wand. His black eyes slide to Moody, to see him grinning with his wand in his hands. The bastard must've seen her coming with his magical eye and opened the door for her to hear.

Bravely, Severus turned around to see her face etched with betrayal. Why did she have to look so much like Lily? He tried to focus on James Potter's eyes, but he could only see hurt. "Kimberly…"

Kim took a step back, feeling like he had slapped her in the face since he didn't deny it. Severus was a Death Eater. He supported the man who killed her parents.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Poor Severus… Do you guys think Harry was too mean? (I didn't, but then again, he does have a temper.) Just picture it as the most humiliating thing that ever happened to you and imagine it going on for hours. :( The next two chapters are pretty crazy! Two character deaths in two chapters! :O But I will admit that one of them is a more of a minor character... Please review!**


	13. Listening

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you Slytherin's Strumpet and LilyEvansDouble for reviewing!**

 **Slytherin's Strumpet: I tried, but this Yule Ball is just a disaster!**

 **LilyEvansDouble: I could've sworn I replied to your review… She didn't make much of a fuss about it because she was kind of caught off guard. As for her remembering, it's kind of buried in her subconscious. It's not as strong as the Imperious, and if she could start to fight it, she would see herself doing it. I don't know if you watched the cartoon** _ **Avatar: The Last Airbender**_ **, but it would be kind of like that Blood Bending episode if she could fight through it, which is hard if she doesn't know it's going on. Harry will help her out in about chapter 17. :)**

Chapter 13 Listening

"Who cares if he fancies the mudblood?" Draco asked Greg, who was enjoying lazing around in their dorm room while his eyes healed up. "As long as we don't have to see or hear about it, it's Harry's problem."

Greg shrugged. "Millicent told me that if I pretend to be angry into the New Year, that Snape will give me an O in Potions."

Draco and Blaise shared a look. After four years, that was the most they had ever heard from Greg at once. Once he thought about it, Blaise merely shrugged. Greg wasn't much of a thinker, but when someone else told him what to think, it wasn't hard for him to speak.

"Right…" Draco snuck another glance at Blaise. "But we have to stick together. All the other houses are against us. So… We'll talk to Harry for you and make sure he doesn't start another fight."

Greg nodded, not really caring. He merely wanted to see what he could get out of the situation, and an O in Potions seemed like a pretty good deal.

"I need to talk to you." When he heard Kim's voice, Draco nearly groaned. He really didn't want to hear her cry about Harry being mean to her. She made her brother the laughing stock of the whole school, and he and Blaise were going to going to have to spend all of Christmas hols doing damage control within their own house.

Ignoring her obvious devastation, Draco narrowed his eyes at Blaise. "How'd she get in? Did you-Why would you give her the password?"

"Because I love her," Blaise said firmly, leaving no room for argument. He frowned, realizing that she hadn't come to talk about Harry. From the looks of things, something much worse happened. "What's the matter?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "She got in trouble, that's what happened."

Kim gasped out, breathing shallowly and quickly, like she was trying not to fall apart. Draco wanted to kick her out when he realized that she barely even noticed him and that her eyes were only on Blaise. "Please. There-there's no one else…"

Ignoring Draco like it was his fault, Blaise put an arm around her shoulders and started heading out. "C'mon. You can tell me in an empty classroom."

* * *

Draco felt ridiculous as he hid behind students, keeping his distance and following Blaise and Kim all the way to the third floor, but he almost desperately wanted to know what was wrong. He hated to admit it, but he almost angry that he cared while she didn't so much as acknowledge him a few minutes ago.

Once they were behind a closed door, Draco crept up as slowly, barely daring to breathe. It probably wasn't necessary though, because Kim was crying so loud that she wouldn't have heard an elephant leaning against the door.

"How could he? How could he talk to me and Remus every day? How could he even look at us?" she sobbed.

Blaise was silent for a while. Somehow, despite the fact that he couldn't see him, Draco could tell that he was shocked by whatever Kim told him. "Maybe… Maybe it was a mistake. Like Professor Snape joined the Death Eaters and regretted it. Plenty of people have…"

It took a minute for Kim to stop crying enough to speak. Draco tensed, straining his ears to hear her. "Like who? Draco's dad? Who tried to kill me two years ago? And when did Severus regret it? When my dad died?! It was probably the best day of his life!"

"Wha-what are you talking about…?" For once, it was clear that Blaise didn't have any advice. Draco wanted to rip open the door and say that his Father didn't try to kill her, that his father was a good man and that she herself said it was a misunderstanding two years ago.

"He just stared at me! He didn't go after me when I ran off," she yelled. Draco felt his throat tense when she became harder to understand through her sobs. "He's... was supposed to be my dad! He probably really _hates_ me! Dumbledore p-probably made him and—"

"You know that's not true," Blaise said quietly. "Severus loves you. If that wasn't clear, Daphne and Millicent wouldn't pick on you as often. Everyone in our House resents it."

"Re-Remus said that Death Eaters cast the Dark Mark. That they kill people! People like his mum! Severus probably killed people like Remus's mum! Like my dad's parents!" She started crying so hysterically that Draco heard her gag a few times. "Oh God! What if he killed someone Remus and Sirius cared about? He's been lying to me for four years! I just want to crawl in a hole and die!"

"No you don't," Blaise yelled over her crying. "After what happened with Harry and having this thrown in your face—"

"And he hates me too! I should have asked him first!"

"He doesn't hate you," Blaise tried.

"Yes he does! He-he just wanted to meet me, and I was so mean to him last year! And he never had any friends before this, and now Draco probably hates him, and no one will talk to him, and it's all my fault!"

Draco heard the scrapping of a wooden chair against a stone floor as Blaise moved closer to her. "No, he won't," he tried to soothe. "This'll all be a bad memory by the time Harry gets back. And Draco isn't that much of a jerk. Usually."

Blaise was trying to make a joke in an attempt to make her laugh, but it flew right over Kim's head. She was too hysterical and too focused on Death Eaters. "He's just like his father! Just like Severus!"

Draco left before he could hear anymore. He felt a terrible tightness in his chest, as if he was just insulted beyond measure. She just received what she considered devastating news and shouldn't be taken seriously. But a million thoughts soon started racing through his head. Did she really think Father tried to kill her? _Did_ Father try to kill her? Did she hate him?

* * *

Sirius was pouting in Harry's room when Snape showed up. Although Remus tried to tell him weeks ago that it wasn't happening, he had hoped that Harry would want to stay with them for Christmas. Instead, he packed his bags without saying a word and stood as still as a statue when Sirius had hugged him goodbye.

Sighing, Sirius laid on Harry's bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering when he would make up with Kimmy. Surely they would after not seeing each other for a while.

"Lupin!" At the sound of the slimy git's voice, Sirius scowled and almost rushed into the sitting room to yell at him to leave. Something in Snape's voice made him hesitate, however.

"Severus?" Remus must've sensed it too and was using his 'walking on eggshells' tone. "Harry's already—"

"You have to take her for a few days, Lupin." If Sirius didn't know better, he would have thought that Snape sounded scared.

There was a pause. Remus was obviously surprised too. Finally he asked, "What happened, Severus? Don't tell me there was another fight."

"No. It's…" Okay. This was getting weirder and weirder. Snape was always like an enraged bull. Sirius had never heard him speechless and found himself leaning against Harry's door to make sure he heard everything. "She heard me tell Moody that I was a Death Eater."

 _Whoa_ , was all Sirius could think. Sure, he threatened to tell Kimmy all the time, but he wasn't planning on doing it. It would break her heart.

"H-how?" Remus couldn't believe it either. What were they going to do? "Did you try to talk to her?"

"I… She ran off. I didn't think it was a good idea to look for her."

Sirius heard the thumping of Remus's shoes against the wooden floor as he started pacing. "I don't trust her being here with Sirius," he murmured. "And I honestly don't know what to tell her, Severus. I mean, I could tell her the truth. But I don't know if that will make up for it."

"And how will she believe that I was a spy if Black doesn't?" Snape's voice was a little (almost imperceptibly) uneven, and Sirius almost felt bad. However, he couldn't help but feel betrayed too. Remus should trust him enough to be around his own goddaughter when she needed him. But could he really lie to her and tell her that he trusted Snape? Probably not.

"You need to talk to her, Severus," Remus said firmly. "Tell her the truth. And tell her how close you and Lily were. That will help. She needs to let it sink in first. You can't expect her to instantly take it calmly."

"You didn't see her face, Lupin," Snape muttered.

"She reacted so strongly because she loves you, Severus," Remus pressed. "She feels safe with you and hearing that you were a Death Eater took that feeling away."

"I have to go." Snape was so quiet that Sirius barely heard him.

Sirius waited a few minutes, wondering what he should do. It was rather tempting to pretend to have fallen asleep on Harry's bed and act like he didn't hear anything. Unfortunately, Remus decided what to do for him. Tiredly, he called out, "You can come out now, Padfoot."

Silently, Sirius slipped out into the sitting room. "I always thought you would eventually tell her."

"I wasn't planning to any time soon," Remus admitted. He sunk into the sofa like he was suddenly exhausted. "I'll have to show you the memory of her playing on the swings one day…"

Sirius rubbed at his eyes. "This is the worst first Christmas ever, Moony."

Remus laughed bitterly in agreement. Little did they know it was going to end much, much worse.

* * *

Pansy was taking over three hours to get ready. Daphne and Millicent were long gone, having given up once the ball started. Even Astoria fled a couple minutes ago when Theo, who was her date, started to get impatient.

Draco tried to be patient. Dancing wasn't his favorite pastime, but he still wanted to go. At this rate, they were going to miss the bloody ball.

"Okay! I'm ready!" Pansy yelled as she started running into the Common Room. She had more energy as of late, and Draco thought she was getting better. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Now that she wasn't hiding behind her school robes, Draco could see her stick-like arms and even her ribs from where her dark blue dress opened at the back. She smiled at him, but her face quickly fell when she saw the horror on his own.

"Pansy…" he gasped out. "What the hell did you do?"

At his accusatory tone, Pansy darkened. "Excuse me for wanting to be perfect for you."

"What?" For a second, Draco thought Pansy was assuming his was angry about her taking so long to get ready. She was nuts if she thought he wanted her to look like this, like she was dying. "You… I see you eat. What did you do to yourself?"

"Nothing," she hissed nastily as she started heading out. "Let's go."

"I-I'll help you," Draco tried, realizing that he was letting his hurt feelings get the best of him. If something was wrong, she should have told him. "Father—"

"Do not try to make up some stupid reason to save me!" Pansy yelled. "I'm not that red headed bitch!"

Draco clenched his jaw, trying not to scream. Whenever Pansy was particularly angry with him, she tried to bring Kim into it. It bothered him because he went out of his way not to mention her around his girlfriend. "I know you aren't. That's why I like you! You're strong, and I didn't think I had to worry about you! So stop comparing yourself to her!"

Pansy ignored him, or at least, his last sentence. "So the only reason your with me is because I'm not her?" She laughed bitterly. "Oh well, thanks."

"The reason I'm with you is because I can tell you anything. Because I don't have to be afraid to be myself around you." Draco waved her off and started storming out. "But forget it. Clearly you don't feel the same way about me."

* * *

There was something _off_ about Kim. For most of the day, she was sullen. Harry hadn't written back to her, and she still didn't know what to do about Severus. Blaise thought that the Yule Ball was something she was simply going to force herself to get through.

But when she found him on the first floor, she was as happy as could be, smiling brightly without a care in the world.

Her dress robes matched Fleur's. Kim's were white with a bright red pattern in the middle while Fleur's were black and red with the same swirling pattern that resembled a rose.

Still smiling, she ran up to him and squeezed his hands, waiting impatiently for a compliment. Blaise was tempted to not say anything and start leading her to the Great Hall, just to see how long it would take her to yell at him. But she had hardly said a word all day, and he wasn't _that_ mean.

"You look beautiful," he said honestly. Like two beams of heat on his back, he could feel Fleur's eyes on him, like she was ready to slaughter him if he said otherwise or remained silent.

"I know," she informed him with her usual arrogance, complete with her nose in the air. "But it's nice to hear it from mere mortals, so thank you." Her face only broke out into a smile after she saw he was halfheartedly glaring at her. "And you look handsome too."

"Thanks. That means a lot to a mortal." Laughing, Blaise pulled her close to him and kissed her jaw.

At first, he could tell that she was going to try to make him compliment her some more, but when Kim spotted Hermione with Viktor Krum, she tensed. "What the…?"

Hermione thinned her lips, obviously still annoyed with her from a few days before. "I told you I had a date," she whispered angrily as they waited at the entrance to the Great Hall. "Maybe if you believed me, I would have told you."

"No fighting!" Fleur hissed, voice striking the tense air between them like a poisonous snake. "Especially over ze stupid zhings!"

"Hear hear!" Cho Chang chimed in just as the Great Hall doors opened.

* * *

Blaise was embarrassed to admit it, even to himself, but he was so nervous dancing in front of hundreds of people that he stepped on Kim's feet more times than he could count. Usually, she flinched or cried out if he stepped on the foot he already bruised, but this time, it was like she didn't feel it at all. She just kept smiling as if he was dancing like a pro.

"Sorry," he apologized, swearing under his breath when he stepped on her foot yet again. "You really do look beautiful. Although I will say that something's different about you…"

Oblivious to the fact that he meant something off, Kim beamed and tilted her head so head could get a better look at her eyes. "Lavender plucked my eyebrows."

"Oh?" Blaise raise his own. "I didn't know you made up with her."

"Oh no." Kim shook her head and smiled, again seeming more hyper than usual. "I'm lulling her into a false sense of security. Once she trusts me, I shall strike!"

Blaise laughed and attempted to twirl her around, but she only wound up nearly stumbling into him when he tried to pull her back. "I've never been so proud."

* * *

Kim found Draco at a punch bowl. Dinner so far was awkward, since Hermione was upset with her but not upset enough to stop talking to her, so she decided to briefly flee and get something to drink. She was starting to feel a little sick and wanted to save her apologies for tomorrow. If Hermione had given her a name when she said she had a date, she would have believed her.

"Where's Pugsy?" she asked lazily. Did Blaise want the bright red or the purple? Surely he wouldn't mind the red…

Draco glared at her. "I never paid you back for that time you punched me in the face."

Kim sighed. "Fine. Fine. Just trying to make small talk."

"You look nice in the dress robes," he drawled. "Enjoy it while you can. This will probably be one of the last times you can honestly wear a white dress."

Kim stared, taking a moment to figure out what he was saying. "That's fucked up."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Sorry. I'm just not in the mood for a ball of pure sunshine like you."

For half a second, she smiled. "You sound just like Sev—" And just like that, the smile was wiped off her face. Clumsily, she walked past him and grabbed two lemonades. "Excuse me."

* * *

"So I talked to Harry," Blaise announced when Kim started getting quiet again. "Through long distance floo. He said he's still mad at you, but he's willing to talk to you after New Year's."

Kim blinked sleepily and sat up slowly from where she was resting her chin on his shoulder but perked up after running his words through her mind. "Really? Do you think he'll yell at me like before?"

 _Probably_ , Blaise thought. "Just make sure to apologize. And if he does get angry, just say that you understand."

Kim sighed. An apology might not be enough for a while. "I just feel like a jerk. Like nothing can go right lately."

"Hey." Blaise brushed his hand over her cheek. "Everything will turn out alright."

"No it won't." But she leaned into his touch anyway, trying to force herself to believe him.

* * *

"Kimberly." Severus wanted to wait until the stupid ball was over, but the girl looked like she was falling apart. "A word."

Her cheeks were flushed, and if Severus hadn't been watching her like a hawk the entire evening, he would assume she had been drinking. The girl's glassy eyes focused on him, and she smiled. "A dance."

"You've got to be kidding me." Severus rolled his eyes when he found the entire table glaring at him. Those who didn't know what happened merely hated him, and the Veela girl was simply being protective. He sneered at her, but she didn't bat an eye. "Fine. One dance."

Severus stood as still as a statue on the dance floor. The brat swayed slightly, eerily giddy. Before he could comment, she coughed and slurred, "You never have any f-fun."

"Kimberly…" Eyes widening, Severus grabbed her arms to keep her from falling. "Did you eat anything that tasted off?" He tried to stay calm as he started to lead her away. "I'm taking you to—"

"Never have any fun," she said weakly. She started having a coughing fit and to Severus's horror, she coughed up a little blood.

Before he knew it, it was everywhere.

* * *

"You did what?!" Voldemort screamed later that night when Barty reported back to him. "Weren't you listening when I told you not to do anything too extreme?"

"M-my lord," Barty stammered, laughing nervously. "This is what can finally get Severus—"

"Your obsession with Severus has interfered with your work," the Dark Lord barked. Closing his eyes, he took a moment to calm down. Straining himself wouldn't do any good. "You are no longer useful, Barty."

Barty twitched and licked his lips. "But-but my lord! The girl will survive—"

"You are taking too many unnecessary risks," Voldemort hissed. "I wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore wasn't already on to you! Especially since Moody is nowhere to be seen while the Order is running around like chickens with their heads cut off!"

"I will say that I was looking for the culprit, my lord." Barty started shaking. He knew this was the end but was too loyal to Voldemort to try to escape it. "And they won't be paying attention. They are probably trying to save a few of the girl's organs right now."

But the Dark Lord was done with him and couldn't be bothered with his feeble attempts to save himself anymore. Quickly, he hissed a command to Nagini, and with two swift strikes to the neck, Barty was a twitching heap on the dusty floor.

Almost lazily, Lis bent down and picked up Barty's flask. She didn't react as she watched him be swallowed whole by Nagini before her dull, emotionless eyes. "Shall I clean up his mess, my lord?"

"Yes…" Voldemort ran his brittle fingers over his wand. "You will have to find someone to take care of me in your absence… I think it's time Barty Sr. learned what it is like to be under the Imperious Curse."

Lis grinned evilly. "I'll tell him I found his son."

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I guess you guys weren't too upset about this character death… ;) So Lis is going to be Mad-Eye from now on. Kim's on to her by Chapter 15! But next week (hopefully) is the full story on Pansy and a little of Draco questioning his beliefs. After, of course, he makes an ass of himself. :/ Please review!**


	14. Hurting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you LilyEvansDouble and Slytherin's Strumpet for reviewing!**

 **LilyEvansDouble: Barty died last chapter, eaten by Nagini. And, if my plans stay the same (not always likely) you won't find out who Lis is until the very end of the last chapter!**

 _ **WARNING**_ **: If you're squeamish, you might want to skip the last scene. Severus will explain what happened in the next chapter when he confronts the murderer. I don't go into great detail, but it's a pretty violent death.**

Chapter 14 Hurting

There were rumors, of course. Rumors always ran rampant when she let stuff like this happen to her. As usual, Draco tried his best to ignore them. Blaise, new to the game he supposed, let the speculation get to him, and was interrogating Draco within two days.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Blaise spat in the Common Room the night after Boxing Day. Draco was tempted to go home, but he didn't want to spend the rest of the holidays pretending everything was alright with Pansy. The phrase 'between a rock and a hard place' was an accurate description of his life right now.

Sighing, Draco tried to think of what rumor his best friend could possibly be talking about. "No… I didn't Imperious her to take poison. Or put something in her shampoo or whatever else people are saying."

Blaise narrowed his eyes. "You saw the blood. Did you tell her to do it?"

Draco threw his hands up in the air. "Do what, Blaise? Because I've heard a dozen rumors at breakfast, a dozen more at lunch, and I had too much of a headache to deal with them all at supper."

Blaise looked at him darkly. "Lavender Brown—"

"Oh here we go," Draco drawled. Last he heard, Lavender Brown thought Kim was bleeding all over the place because she was allergic to water and drank too much of it. He wondered if sticking a pin in the twit's head would cause it to fly around the room like a deflated balloon.

Blaise gritted his teeth, looking like he wanted to hit Draco for daring to interrupt him. "Said since that she didn't only cough up the blood, that Kim must've made herself an abortion potion and screwed it up."

Draco stared. No one said anything for a while, and he could only hear a strange buzzing in his ears. What the hell did that have to do with him? "So? What would I care if you got her pregnant?"

"I'm not sleeping with her!" Blaise hissed so vehemently that Draco had to force himself not to flinch.

"Well neither am I!" When it was clear that Blaise didn't believe him, Draco couldn't help but gape. Really? Out of all the rumors, Blaise had to believe this one. "So you think I'm going to get her up the duff and tell her to get rid of it at the Yule Ball?"

"She cheated on me in the beginning of the summer," Blaise muttered, seemingly to himself. "With that stupid Muggle. And she actually _loves_ you."

At first, Draco couldn't form words and the closest he got was stuttering out syllables. Of all the ridiculous things…. "Kim? She looks at me like I'm gum under her shoe and-and… She's practically a mudblood, Blaise!"

There was a ringing silence after that. Even the buzzing stopped. Draco wanted to kick himself. He thought if he insulted her, then Blaise would get off his case. Mudblood just slipped out, and he felt like the worse sort of person. She was in St. Mungo's right now, and he was calling her that…

"Really? Well if that's how you feel, you can add it to your signature on her Get Well Soon card." At the sound of Harry's voice, Draco felt his blood run cold. He had a suitcase in his hand and threw it on the nearest sofa before heading in the direction of their dorm room. "I forgot her Christmas present."

"I didn't mean—" Draco tried feebly, not wanting to get on the bad side of his temper.

Too late. Harry stopped in his tracks with his back turned to him. "It's in your best interest to shut up, Draco. Because even though I'm _practically a mudblood,_ I know just as much, if not more, Dark Magic than you."

"I didn't see him, I swear," Blaise whispered as Harry stormed off, equally horrified. "He moves so quietly that Daphne thinks he magicked his shoes or something…"

When Harry came back with a scarlet cauldron, he rounded on Blaise. "And yeah. There was an abortifacient in her system that reacted badly with several pain potions and a Pepper Up, which slowed down the effects of three or four poisons. She took whatever she could get her hands on from Snape's private storage."

"I—" Blaise started.

"Am a jealous idiot!" Harry snapped before turning to Draco. "You can't be my friend and be disgusted with her. We have the same parents. If she's too dirty blooded for you, then that means I'm am too. My grandparents were Muggles. I guess that means I'm too _beneath_ you."

He snatched up his suitcase and stomped out. Blaise bit his lip as he watched him go like the action would help him hold in all his questions. The thought of Kim sneaking into Snape's storage and drinking everything she could without getting caught was so disturbing that he could get the image out of his head. He sunk into the nearest chair.

"I knew something wasn't right over the summer," he muttered as Draco awkwardly sat next to him. "But I was too annoyed with her about the Muggle to press her about it. Still… that's when it started. I'm sure of it."

"She didn't try to kill herself, Blaise." Draco rolled his eyes, trying to act like the idea was ridiculous. He simply couldn't bring himself to think about it. "And Harry knows what I mean."

Blaise laughed bitterly. "What? You can play Quidditch on the weekend with one, but you wouldn't dare _breed_ with a filthy halfblood?"

Of course he had to say it in the worse way possible. Draco groaned. Now he couldn't think of a way to reword it and not sound horrible. "Harry's my friend."

"I'm sure he doesn't feel like it right now…" Blaise looked off into the distance, not sure what he could really say. "I'm sorry I accused you of… I'll tell Harry that I backed you into a corner. That you didn't know what else to say to get me to stop."

Draco didn't say anything. He wasn't exactly lying to Blaise earlier. The Malfoy bloodline was too important. But to who? He'd like to think he would still be with Pansy if she was a halfblood, but he knew that wasn't true. He wouldn't have what he had with Pansy if she wasn't a pureblood. Their relationship was currently in the crapper, but he still cared deeply about her. They wouldn't have that connection if Pansy was a mudblood.

With Harry it was different. Obviously, there were no risks of him soiling the Malfoy bloodline, but it was more than that. Harry was raised pureblood. He wasn't all that different from Draco or Blaise. In fact, Draco hardly noticed that he was a halfblood. It was almost like… his maternal ancestors didn't affect him. Draco didn't know what to make of it.

* * *

Kim didn't know where she was, but when she woke up, she was strongly reminded of the time that Dudley sat on her when they were five. Breathing was an effort, and her stomach hurt like hell. She forced open her eyes to see Sirius and Severus arguing quietly.

"Your bloody right I'm going to ask her why!" Severus hissed. "If it wasn't for magic, she would need a new liver! Her kidneys are still healing, and she rendered herself sterile!"

"I think it can wait—" Sirius stopped himself from calling Severus that wretched nickname when he saw that Kim was awake. "Hey Kimmy! Let me…" He rushed over to her with shaking hands, fumbling with what looked like an oxygen mask that wasn't connected to anything. Kim leaned away from it. "Remus is getting Harry and…"

"Where am I?" Her voice was so raspy that Sirius dropped the mask and started reaching for a pitch with ice water. Severus was lurking in the background, not willing to say a word. "What happened?"

"Er…" Sirius's eyes dancing around the room, but there was no Remus to turn to, only Snape. "What's the last thing you remember, Kimmy?"

"I…" She coughed and reluctantly took a glass of water from Sirius. "Draco called me easy. Then he called me a ball of sunshine. Blaise said Harry would talk to me… Erhm… Hermione said we'd put spiders up Lavender's nose to wake her up after we shave her head…"

"Kimberly, you do realize—"

"Shut up, Snape!" Sirius barked. He forced himself to smile, but Kim thought he looked a little deranged. "What about before the Yule Ball?"

Kim sipped her water, which burned her throat. She held her breath for a moment to try to stop herself from coughing again. "McGonagall got mad at me for trying to sneak Gabrielle into the Great Hall with Seamus as her date. Alastor saved me from her though… Then I got Fleur to braid Luna's hair. Then I got dressed in Gryffindor Tower and started looking for Blaise."

Severus kept his face stone faced and blank. He folded his arms over his chest, like he was trying to be patient. Kim had no idea what else he expected her to say. _They_ should be explaining what happened.

Sirius, on the other hand, was still doing his best to remain cheerful. "You were out of it yesterday, Kimmy. You kept calling me Sever. Well, you were mostly… asleep. So your memory might be a little fuzzy."

"Fuzzy?" Kim repeated dumbly. She couldn't remember what Sirius was talking about, but other than that, her memory was fine.

"In fact…" Sirius glared at Severus, silently telling him to keep quiet. "I need to tell the healer that you're awake and alert."

Severus conjured a stool next to her bed and sat down, seemingly staring into her soul. For a split second, Kim got a flash of herself walking into Severus's office. The only thing was, she couldn't remember doing so without him being in there.

As if he saw what she saw, his eyes widened, but other than that, his face remained blank. "You're in St. Mungo's… Which is where I picked you up the first day we met."

Kim looked away, not really sure why no one was telling her what was going on. She didn't do anything bad… "I know you're going to think I'm dumb. But what did you mean by sterile?"

"I'm sure there's a treatment available." Severus clearly didn't want to answer her at first. Since she didn't know what else to say, she waited until he had the courage to tell her. "You can't have children anymore, Kimberly."

 _Why?!_ Kim was too stunned to speak. She never really thought much about having babies, not deeply anyway, but that didn't mean she didn't want children. She most certainly never thought about having that option taken away from her. What the hell happened? Did someone attack her at the Yule Ball?

Before it fully sunk in, Sirius returned with a healer, who waved his wand over her with an almost dizzying speed. He must've ran about a dozen tests and then started rambling about half a potions she'd have to take for almost two weeks.

"That's an antidote," Kim interrupted when she finally recognized something. "For a poison that slows the heartrate."

The healer froze, as if shocked she could speak. He glanced at Sirius and started stumbling over his words. "Well-well yes. You…"

"We'll talk to her," Sirius said loudly. The healer practically fled while he rushed over to her bed and squeezed her hand, making Kim think that someone died. Severus noticed that Padfoot was freaking her out and rolled his eyes. "Kimmy, we know things haven't been going well lately, and we're sorry that we didn't realize how much it was hurting you."

"What?" Were they really going to talk about Severus being a Death Eater now? Kim just wanted to know who poisoned her.

"She doesn't remember. Not clearly." As soon as Severus started speaking, Kim braced herself. _He_ would tell her what happened. "Kimberly, you broke into my office and my private stores. You drank several potions, including a number of poisons, and I didn't realize it until it was almost too late."

 _Too_ _late?_ Kim had no idea what he was talking about. There was no way she would— "Because you told me to."

The words tumbled out of her mouth, and Kim barely understood them until after she said them. It was like she couldn't help but say it.

"No." To her surprise, Sirius didn't jump the gun and believe her. "He told you that in September, Kimmy. And he was trying to help you build up an immunity, not kill yourself."

 _I didn't want to kill myself!_ she wanted to scream, but before she could stop herself, Kim shook her head. "Severus told me—"

"No he didn't!" Sirius screamed so loud that she jumped. To her horror, his eyes filled with tears. "You can't leave like Lily and James. Please I-"

When he left to calm himself down, Kim hunched over and put her hands behind her head. "I didn't-Something's wrong with me, Severus."

To her disbelief, Severus put a hand on her shoulder. He never _willingly_ showed her affection. "You'll be alright, Kimberly. You always are."

* * *

"So how's therapy?"

Nearly a week later, Kim was still stuck in the Hospital, and Harry was currently playing chess with her on her bed. They were equally terrible and were pretty much watching their pieces fight to the death.

She wasn't allowed to leave until she completed twenty hours of therapy, and Remus wanted her to go on Saturdays from now on too. It wasn't fun, to say the least, but it stopped Remus from hovering and Sirius from looking too sullen, so she forced herself to do it.

Severus was the same as usual, which is why she demanded he come over every day. Neither of them brought up that he was a Death Eater, and Kim didn't want to ruin it. He was much easier to be around than Sirius and Remus.

To answer Harry's question, Kim shrugged. "Awkward. They still think…"

Harry frowned. No one believed that she didn't do it, not even Blaise. "Maybe you just don't remember."

"I think I would remember trying to off myself!" Kim snapped, since someone told her that at least once a day.

"Well…" Harry squinted at the chessboard. Kim's queen was currently strangling his bishop. "What else could it be?"

Growling, Kim rubbed at her bruised elbows. Remus said that Severus dropped her when she started bleeding all over the place. Her joints were starting to bother her once and a while, but she didn't say anything because she wanted more than anything to go home. "I don't know. We learned about the Imperious Curse at school. Maybe someone _made_ me drink that stuff."

Harry thinned his lips. His first reaction was to not believe her, but the idea wasn't completely out there. It would explain why she would tell people that she didn't do it, but if asked why she did it, she would automatically say the same thing, that Severus told her to do it. "I believe you."

"Really?" The disbelief was clear in her voice. It was probably because no one asked her. They just got upset when she denied doing anything to herself.

"Yes…" Harry smiled sadly. "I just don't know what to do about it. Do you know how many people might want you dead?"

"Pansy." Kim grinned for the first time in days when Harry scowled. "Alright fine. We'll figure it out. But don't tell anyone. They won't believe me."

"They were scared," Harry mumbled. He tried to reach for one of the chess pieces, but they were having too much fun with their freedom, and a knight stabbed him with its tiny sword. Wincing, he waved his hand back and forth to try to shake off the pain. "Sirius was crying so hard…"

"Right. Well…" Kim squeezed her eyes shut, not knowing what else to say. She felt bad for Sirius, but she wasn't going to lie about something like this. Not saying anything just seemed better. Sighing heavily, she changed the subject. "Why hasn't Blaise stopped by? I know I said I didn't want visitors, but I would have let him."

"Um…" Harry rubbed at the back of his head, a little embarrassed. "He said something stupid, and I yelled at him. I think he's afraid I told you."

Not sure what to think about that, Kim chewed on her lip and reached for a chess piece. When on tried to stab her, she simply swatted it away and grabbed her king to force it to fight Harry's. "Oh."

"It was nothing," Harry insisted, although he didn't sound too convincing.

"Right." Whatever is was, Kim really didn't want to deal with it now. "You know, you're like the sassy friend who tells it like it is. Sort of like Ginny. Only you're mean."

"Thanks?" Since she was smiling, Harry supposed she was joking. At least he hoped.

Kim pursed her lips. "Ginny thinks it's a compliment too." For a minute, she didn't continue, although he could tell that she wanted too. Finally, she nearly whispered, "It's okay if you're still mad at me."

Swearing to himself, Harry glanced at the door, wondering when Remus and Sirius were coming back. They were talking to the mind healer, trying to figure out when Kim should go back to school. "Um… Well, it's kind of hard to stay angry with someone when you think they're going to die."

That was the last straw, apparently. Even though it was clear she didn't _want_ him mad at her… Frustrated, Kim swiped her hand across the chessboard, knocking all the players to the floor. Harry jumped and wondered if he should get a healer. There were three tiny pin pricks on her hand from where the chess players tried to fight back. "I said I didn't do it."

"I know," Harry said slowly, cautiously. "And I told you I believe you."

She glared at him like she didn't believe him. "You can't tell Remus and Sirius. They won't believe me _or_ they'll tell me to stay out of it while they try to figure it out like last time and come up with nothing."

"Okay. But ehrm, I don't really know what else to do…" Harry wanted to disagree, but her dark eyes were boring into him, and he didn't want to start something, especially since Remus and Sirius were going to be back soon.

A brief look of regret flashed across her face, but it was gone when she heard Sirius talking down the hall. "You're going to teach me how to fight."

* * *

"Hey."

At the sound of Pansy's voice, Draco's heart skipped a beat, but he did his best not to let it show. He hid behind his textbook and tried to continue sulking like he was before. She sat at the edge of his bed, but Draco refused to look up. He wasn't angry with her, not exactly, but he didn't want to admit that he was hurt and worried about her.

"I thought you went home." Draco kept his voice as flat as possible and still didn't take his eyes off his book.

Like it was nothing, Pansy shrugged. "I did, but once my mum came home, I asked Professor Snape if I could floo back."

 _Your mum's always home._ But Draco didn't care enough to ask. "I think Tracey is somewhere around here."

Pansy narrowed her eyes, debating if she should start a fight with him or not. She supposed he had a right to be rude, since he was hurt, but that didn't mean she had to like it. "Good for her."

Annoyed, Draco snapped his book shut and sat up to finally look her in the eye. "What do you want me to say, Pans? I'm not going to beg for forgiveness if that's what you're fishing for."

Pansy snorted. "I was going to apologize but forget it. You obviously don't care—"

"If I didn't care, I would be acting like nothing happened right now!" Draco yelled. "What do you want from me? Huh? Because I don't even know what's going on with you!"

Pansy looked away. He was right, but she didn't want to admit it. "It just gets to me. You know? The stuff my mum says. Not just about me, but about herself too. She's constantly calling herself fat and going on some stupid diet it, and it makes me feel…"

Her eyes filled with tears as she broke off, but Draco made no move to comfort her. The more she spoke, the less confidence he had that he could help her once he had the full story.

To try to stop herself from crying, Pansy looked at the ceiling. "So when she gave me those _stupid_ potions, I didn't say anything, but I took them. And when she sends me more, I take them again. And again."

"What do they do?" Draco asked quietly. He wished he hadn't spoken because the fearful, nearly silent sound of his voice made him feel small and insignificant.

Shaking her head, Pansy thinned her lips, clearly tempted to spat, _Nothing!_ But she knew there was no turning back at this point. "I eat with you guys, then I go to the bathroom, and I drink it… It magicks away a good portion of what I just ate."

Draco had to bite his tongue to keep from saying that that was disgusting. The hard part was that he didn't really know what else to say. "Can you-can you just stop taking them? Surely Father would pay to reverse any adverse effects without word getting out."

When Pansy tensed, Draco knew that somehow he had said the wrong thing. She looked at him like he was out of his mind. "But then I'd go back to the way I was!"

 _So?!_ Draco wanted to bang his head against the wall. She wasn't rail thin before, but that didn't mean she was overweight. "I don't see how that's a problem."

"Of course you don't." Pansy sneered at him like she thought she was an idiot and rose from the bed to leave. Draco couldn't let her do that and found himself wracking his brain to try to think of something that would make her stop.

"I'll tell Professor Snape," he blurted out, causing her to freeze in the doorway. "Or my parents. Sev-Severus would have to find a way to get you to stop. It's his job."

She spun around so quickly that Draco was surprised she didn't fall over. She was beyond furious with him, and he almost flinched under her stare. "You wouldn't dare!"

"He won't be at St. Mungo's so much now that classes are going to be starting soon." What was he doing?! He shouldn't be threatening her! Unfortunately, Draco didn't know what else to do. "Just give me the potions whenever your mum sends them."

Pansy started breathing heavily. If he didn't know better, he would say that she was going to try to physically attack him. "You-you-I thought you loved me!"

"I do." Draco felt a sinking feeling in his chest. This was the first time he admitted it out loud. He couldn't help but think that the memory would be forever tainted.

Since that didn't work, she went for manipulation and did her best to look like she was about to cry. It wasn't that hard, considering. "Then don't do this. If you really care about me—"

"I could tell my parents instead," he offered stubbornly, feeling like the worst person in the world. The only thing that would make him feel crueler, however, would be to let her go on the way she had been.

"You-you…" Pansy ran off. She never let anyone see her actually cry. In her opinion, doing so was an extreme weakness.

Draco sat in his room staring at the wall. Perhaps it would be better to tell someone instead of blackmailing her into stopping. Then she wouldn't resent him and eventually might want to stop on her own.

An hour later, Pansy dumped a box full of potions on his lap and left without a word. Draco almost wished she hadn't. Now he couldn't ask for help without her hating him.

* * *

Celeste read the paper with the giant headline _Girl-Who-Lived Terminates Pregnancy, Almost kills self in the process by Rita Skeeter_ two days after Boxing Day. Needless to say, she had a long conversation with her son, only to realize that that wasn't the case, and that now Blaise was afraid to talk to Kim. Somehow, the article somewhat accurately stated that Blaise _'vehemently swore'_ that he wasn't the father.

Although it wasn't clear how, this Skeeter woman was in conversations that she most certainly didn't belong in, and Celeste wasn't about to let her go unpunished. The day after the New Year, she scheduled a meeting with Miss Skeeter.

"Hello." The gaudy woman gestured for Celeste to take a seat, which she did. The Quick-Quotes Quill was already poised, ready to get the next big scoop. "Will your son be joining us later?"

Celeste kept a cool expression on her face, but inside, she was ready to explode. After nearly two decades of practice, her voice was calm and level, almost soothing. "No. He's too upset."

"Oh?" The magical quill scribbled two notebook pages from her two short sentences. Celeste knew she'd have to dispose of it. "May I ask how he's doing during these troubling times?"

 _I just told you!_ Celeste snarled in her head. In that moment, she lost all patience. "This interview is over."

"Already?" Skeeter blinked, having the gall to act like she didn't know what the problem was. That is, she was willing to play stupid until Celeste took her wand out. To her shock, the pathetic excuse for a reporter vanished. She couldn't apparate in her office…

Celeste heard an irritating buzzing noise, but only let her surprise get to her for half a second. Without hesitation, she snatched a book off the nearest shelf and slammed it into the beetle, smashing it against the wall.

Once she removed the book, Skeeter transformed back into a human, broken and bloody. One of her legs and arms were even hanging off.

She was dead, obviously, but Celeste waited a minute, just to make sure. She grabbed the notebook from the quill and ripped out a few pages, making sure to get out every bit of paper was removed from the small notebook.

After stuffing the pages in her pocket, Celeste took a deep breath and started screaming. "HELP! HELP! OH MERLIN HELP!"

In a flash, Skeeter's assistant burst into the room. Celeste forced herself to gag and start crying hysterically. "I-I came in! Just like you said! Oh God! She-I thought she wasn't here! But there was this bug! I didn't think anything about killing it! Oh God what have I done!"

Her assistant was sick herself and soon a crowd started to grow outside the office doorway to witness the horrors of what had happened.

There were questions, of course. Luckily, Skeeter's room was practically sound proof. The assistant had barely heard Celeste's cries for help but knew in order to hear her that she must have been screaming rather loudly.

A magical autopsy confirmed that Skeeter was in fact an unregistered animagus, and the Ministry had no choice but to believe her story. There was simply no evidence that anything else had happened.

Celeste was allowed to go home without any charges against her and was able to enjoy a late supper with her son. Blaise was quiet, but he knew better than to ask.

"You know I love you, right?" she asked nonchalantly as she lavishly buttered a dinner roll. She wanted to add, _And I can't help it._ But she kept quiet. Blaise didn't need the burden of having to hear her say it aloud.

"Yeah." Blaise focused on cutting up his steak. He wanted to add, _And that's the only thing I understand about you._ But he kept quiet. His mother didn't need the burden of knowing that her son thought she was a monster.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Two chapters until the Second Task! So who's the unfortunate one that Kim will have to save? I'm leaning towards Severus, but I'd like to hear your opinions! :) Also, Draco obviously has to tell someone,** _ **but**_ **he's fourteen, so he'll try his best on his on for a while. Please review!**


	15. Snooping

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you LilyEvansDouble, Slytherin's Strumpet, and centennialwriter for reviewing!**

 **centennialwriter: Not to worry, Kim and Blaise will make up soon!**

Chapter 15 Snooping

Because he spent so much time at St. Mungo's, Severus soon realized he was neglecting his House. Evidence of that included Draco acting skittish around his girlfriend and the oh so subtle face that Mr. Zabini's mother splattered Rita Skeeter against a wall. He figured the latter required his attention first.

And so, hours before term started, he found himself having tea with Mrs. Zabini. "It has come to my attention…" He narrowed his eyes when she smiled after giving herself a few extra cubes of sugar. "…that there may be some problems at home."

Mrs. Zabini frowned like she couldn't possibly fathom what he was talking about. "Problems? Everything's fine, Severus."

 _And I'm a fairy princess,_ Severus thought dryly. He didn't dare say it, however. He didn't want to become the next Rita Skeeter. Quickly, he glanced around the room to make sure Blaise wasn't snooping around in his mother's parlor. "The boy needs a mother, not an assassin, Celeste."

As if he called her a foul name, Mrs. Zabini tensed up and set her teacup down abruptly. "I think it's time you leave, Severus. Blaise will be on the train in an hour. I have to make sure he has everything packed."

"And he needs a father too," Severus continued, trying to act unfazed. "Have you noticed that he's able to give advice but freezes up when he has his own problems? The only thing he has learned from his _fathers_ is that men are disposable. Perhaps that's why he's hesitant to so much as inquire about Kimberly."

Mrs. Zabini's face scrunched up in revulsion. "Kim would never—"

"I wasn't saying she would kill him." Severus doubted that Blaise thought that either. However, he had no doubt that the boy didn't see much value in himself. "Although I do believe that he thinks she will terminate the relationship. Why wouldn't she? He's only a boy. Like your husbands are only men."

Her eyes went wild, and for at least a few moments, Severus saw the young girl that she was before years of killing hardened her. "Blaise… Blaise's father beat me up two weeks before I had him."

The ringing silence almost made Severus flinch. This was getting too personal… He wanted more than anything to flee and knew that if he closed his eyes, he would see his mother's cowering figure. Slowly, he asked, "And why are you punishing your son for it?"

"Excuse me?" she gasped out. The fact that she didn't understand what he was saying was astounding, Severus thought.

Still, he did his best to keep his face blank and cold. "Do you think Blaise doesn't know? Do you really think he believes it was an accident that you smashed Skeeter against a wall?"

"He's a good boy," Mrs. Zabini pressed desperately, trying to prove that he was unaffected. "He's smart and funny and-and he can be a little quiet sometimes, but it's because he's a deep thinker. He—"

"Shouldn't have to worry about who his own mother is going to kill next." Severus rose from his seat and started heading for the floo. "Think about that, Celeste, the next time you want to spill blood."

* * *

"You'll never catch me alive!"

Kim was back at the cottage, and Sirius and Remus were surprised out how happy she became the moment she set foot through the floo. It was like a switch flipped, and she went from sullen and frustrated to animated and content.

After lunch, Harry was _trying_ to teach her how to properly duel, but before he could even get started, she sent a Stinging Hex his way and started running around the living room. It took him a moment to figure out she was trying to get him to chase her through the house.

"You can't turn your back on someone!" he tried as she ran to the kitchen giggling. She was the one who wanted to learn how to fight! "Remember what happened to Ron?"

"That's because Draco's a jerk!"

"So are Death Eaters!"

Remus stared opened mouthed as she grabbed her coat and ran outside to play in the snow. Not knowing what else to do, Harry grabbed his own coat and followed suit.

"What the bloody hell…" Sirius muttered.

Remus walked over to the window to see Kim trying to climb a tree and duel Harry at the same time. "We can't just act like it never happened."

Sirius shook his head and glanced at her room. "She doesn't keep a diary, does she? I mean, I don't _want_ to read it but…"

"I don't think she does." Remus thinned his lips. The mind healer said she was recovering, despite the fact that she still refused to talk about what happened. Although it killed him to think it, he couldn't help but worry if her sudden burst of happiness was all an act. He didn't want to send her back to school just yet, although he knew Severus would be keeping an eye on her more than usual now. If only he could see inside her head and know what she was thinking right now. "But I'll take them with me to pick up some take away. You can look while we're gone."

There was something off about Alastor. Again. Kim noticed it the first day she was allowed to go back

* * *

to school, which was a long two weeks after everyone else.

He was more like himself, but not. During the beginning of the school year, he was so fidgety that Kim thought he was an alcoholic. Now, not so much. He still drank from his flask but was calmer somehow. Well, calmer was a strong word. He was as calm as Mad-Eye Moody could be.

"So I was wondering," Alastor said as he circled the room, making sure not to turn his back to anyone. "If any of you could tell me the difference between emotionally charged magic and accidental magic." He stopped in from of Kim. "Potter?"

"Er…" Kim sunk low in her set. Hermione had her hand up, of course. Everyone else looked confused. If Harry was here, he would know, but he wouldn't be so eager to show it like Hermione. "I have no clue…"

"Really?" Alastor sneered at her, almost menacingly. "Because you seem to have a lot of experience with both."

How… Kim turned scarlet. Maybe Sirius told him? Or maybe the staff had to know because of how bad she was first year. "Well I don't…"

"Emotionally charged magic isn't necessarily accidental," Hermione burst out. "A spell can be cast on purpose, but if the caster is upset, the spell can be more powerful. Also—"

"I was not asking you, Miss Granger," Alastor growled. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

Kim didn't listen during the rest of the lesson. She mostly pouted and stared out the window. No one really knew that Alastor was taunting her. They probably thought that it was because it was her first day back, and she already wasn't doing well. As soon as the bell rang, she practically ran out.

"Sorry!" Hermione said loudly as she, Ron, and Neville rushed to catch up to her. "I didn't want him to keep pestering you!"

Kim narrowed her eyes. That was half of it, at most. "S'okay, Hermione. I'm mad at Alastor, not you."

"He was a real wanker today." Ron grinned when Hermione glared at him. "He was almost as bad as Snape!"

"He always is," Neville mumbled. Ever since the class they had with the Unforgivables, he sat in the back during lecture periods and hardly ever focused enough to take notes. Sometimes, Kim sat with him, and they passed notes throughout the lecture.

She bit her lip when she caught Blaise's eye in the hallway. Like he was afraid of her, he ran off a split second later. She wanted to chase after him, but it was her first day back, and the people staring were getting to her. "Yeah. Something's off about him though. I can't put my finger on it."

"Don't worry about him." Hermione squeezed her hand while Kim suppressed the urge to groan. She had no idea how to explain to them that she didn't try to kill herself, especially since no one else believed her. "Let's eat in the Common Room tonight. I'm sure Professor McGonagall won't mind."

"No, no…" Kim would rather not have Severus bursting in and scaring the crap out of Neville. She just had to work towards the Second Task. Soon enough, everyone would be talking about that. "I think we'll eat, and I'll talk to Blaise if I can catch him."

"You mean dump him?" Ron asked hopefully, earning himself a smack on the back of the head. "Oi! I'm just saying. People wouldn't think that, well, you know, if he hadn't been yelling about it."

"Well it's not true." Wanting to go back to first year, Kim grabbed his sleeve and started dragging him to the staircase. "Race you to the Great Hall!"

* * *

By the time her first week back was over, Kim was ready to believe every paranoid theory Harry had about Alastor. Every class, he called on her and did his best to humiliate her. At every meal, he went between glaring at her and glaring at Severus or the Slytherin table. Call her crazy, but it was like he became a totally different person since the last time she saw him.

And so, Kim found herself snooping in Alastor's office towards the end of January. There were a lot of odd things that she wasn't sure about (including a screaming trunk), so she stuck to looking through papers. Hopefully she could find an old letter or something to figure out what was going on.

The only thing she found that was weird was a notebook that was under a loose floorboard. It had all the basic details of Alastor's life, like when he was born and that he was married once. The notebook was full of them, getting more complex as she leafed through it. Kim couldn't fathom why he would have this.

"I'm writing an autobiography," a gruff voice ground out, interrupting her from her thoughts. With a squeak, Kim jumped nearly a foot in the air. "It won't be published until after I'm dead, of course. Can't have people using it against me."

"Right…" Kim slowly rose from the seat behind Alastor's desk. He wouldn't hurt her… Although the look in his eye was telling a different story… "I'm-I'm going to go. Harry's waiting for me."

"Why are you here?" Alastor snapped. "You won't find any poisons in my office."

"Oh? Uh…" Laughing nervously, Kim tried to inch out but found Alastor blocking the doorway. "Like I said, Harry's waiting for me."

Alastor smirked. "Ah yes. The boy who chose to be in the same House of the man who murdered his parents. I'm sure you can count on him to swoop in and rescue you."

Actually, he probably would. Harry loved using the Marauder's Map and was probably constantly looking at it since he was still angry with Draco for some reason. That and the fact that he hated Alastor meant that he would be on his way soon enough. Still, Kim wanted to be able to get out of this herself. She just needed to stall him until she could figure out how.

"I know it was you." This was actually Harry's theory, but Kim figured she could borrow it. She didn't really believe it but wanted to hear what Alastor had to say. "Who sent the letters about Severus to Sirius. Why'd you do it?"

Alastor swore under his breath. Okay… Maybe he did do it… She had to strain her ears to try to hear him. "Stupid bastard."

"Hey!" She was going to have to do it. She was going to kick him in his bits and run off. "You're the one taking the letters off my tests and stuff and rearranging them! I'm telling—"

"I thought it was Snape, but it was really Karkaroff," Alastor explained. Kim took a step back, taking it as a good sign when he didn't take a step closer to her. "I thought he broke into my house before the start of the school year. Probably to see if I had any information on the Tournament and the Goblet of Fire."

Kim didn't believe him. He was implying that Karkaroff put her name in the Goblet of Fire, but that didn't make much sense, considering how desperately he wanted Krum to win. It could be just an act though. "If Severus wanted me dead, he would have left me in the Chamber of Secrets. Or with Voldemort after he took me first year."

Alastor grunted in agreement, but she was still suspicious. He could have figured that out on his own. "But Karkaroff was supposedly countries away when everything started. He wasn't there when that writing appeared on the Dungeon walls. Or when my house was broken into. Severus was the only one around. I thought if I had Sirius and Remus on my side that I would have a better time finding evidence. But I was wrong. I have every reason to believe that Karkaroff put your name in the Goblet of Fire."

Kim stared. What he said barely made sense. Alright fine, it didn't make sense at all. The only so called evidence he had that Karkaroff put her name in the Goblet was that he no longer thought Severus did it. Also, she couldn't remember the last time she was even close enough to Karkaroff for him to cast a spell on her. "I have to go now."

She tried to push her way past him, but Alastor grabbed her arm, twisting it and causing her to cry out. He pointed his wand in the middle of the 'X' shaped bruise that wouldn't seem to go away. Kim struggled, but her brain started to feel a little fuzzy.

"Now you listen to me, you little bitch," Alastor snarled, even though she couldn't exactly hear him. "You believe every word I just told you and tell anyone who asks that you do."

Kim blinked, but by the time she could focus again, Alastor had put his wand away and let go of her. She could've sworn he just called her… The memory was too fuzzy to properly grasp. No, she remembered now. Alastor had just explained to her that he had made a mistake, that Severus didn't do anything. It was Karkaroff. He was probably just mad at her for snooping through his stuff. "Sorry."

Alastor patted her on the back, a little roughly. "I'm sure Snape was just trying to turn you against me. Never trust someone with the Mark, Kimberly."

"Yeah, er…" Kim was getting more confused by the minute, but something told her that sticking around for long wasn't a good idea. "Sorry. I have to go. Harry's waiting for me."

* * *

After dinner, Kim and Harry were practicing dueling for about two hours. Because of her meeting with Alastor, she actually took it seriously this time. Something about their conversation didn't sit right with her, but she also almost stubbornly wanted to believe him.

Exhausted, Kim sat on an old desk that they had pushed aside to practice in an old, unused classroom. "I'll never be as good as you."

"That's the spirit." Harry smirked when she glared at him. "You can't expect overnight results."

 _I_ know _that,_ she thought grumpily. Kim wasn't sure about confiding in Harry about Alastor because she knew he would jump the gun and say that he put her name in the Goblet of Fire. There must be something really wrong with Alastor, and he needed their help, but, being Alastor, he wasn't letting anyone. He was older. Maybe he was going senile…

"I'm just having a bad day." Kim jumped off the desk and sent a stunner his way, trying for once to catch him off guard. With a small smile, Harry deflected it like it was nothing. "Still mad at Draco?"

"Still mad." Harry laughed when she pouted after realizing that he wasn't planning on telling her what happened. "Don't worry about it. Worry about the one hundred and one other things that are going on."

"Fine, fine, fine." Kim reached into her robe pocket and took out a small, blank notebook. "Wanna help me make up a diary? I think Remus and Sirius are snooping around in my room. It's been looking rather clean lately."

Harry frowned. She would be going home on the weekend for therapy, which he knew she wasn't too pleased about. Planting a fake diary was something that would definitely blow up in her face later. He asked cautiously, "What do you have so far?"

"Um…" She started leafing through the pages. "I wrote that I have a tattoo of a lizard on my right butt cheek and that I saw Severus painting his toe nails black. I'm thinking about writing that I saw McGonagall and Dumbledore tongue kissing."

"Do you want to be in therapy for the rest of your life?" Harry shook his head when she shrugged like it was no big deal. "At least write _something_ nice."

Kim wrinkled her nose and walked over to her bag to take out a quill. "I got an O on my History test yesterday. I love—"

"Now they'll definitely know it's a fake."

"Hey!"

* * *

Kim knew that Fleur was trying to be nice and all with her determination to figure out the Second Task for her, but she thought it would have been a nice distraction from the stares and the whispers and the fact that Blaise was avoiding her. The most Fleur let her do was play in the snow with Gabrielle while she researched. Hermione would've have stolen all of Fleur's books and figured it out by now.

"So," Kim told Hermione and Ron as they headed for the library. (Ron was sulking about going there on a Friday night.) "You have to help me find the right books, so I can figure it out and show Fleur that I'm not a wimp!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "So you want me to find the answer for you, so Fleur doesn't find the answer for you and think you can't find the answer?"

Kim bit her lip. Well when she put it like that… "Yes."

"Can you find the answer before curfew, Hermione?" Ron whined as if it were easy. "It's _Friday._ "

"Ron, I only have a few weeks!" Kim yelled while Hermione sighed. At least they were getting it out of their systems before they set foot in the library. She was tempted to sneak in when they started bickering.

"Well you can read! You don't need me _and_ Hermione! Especially me! Just wing it at the Second Task!"

"What if I'm shot into space and can't breathe or something?"

"Why would you be shot into space?"

" _Because_ —"

"Excuse me." Cho Chang cleared her throat and looked a little embarrassed when both Kim and Ron instantly became silent and snapped their heads towards her. Almost cautiously, as if Kim would bite her, she handed her a letter. "And Cedric wants you to know that I would the one who wrote the name on the outside. He says he owes you one."

Frowning, Kim turned over the letter to see _Sparkling Dreamgirl_ written on the cover in loopy handwriting. Once she opened it, she saw in sloppier handwriting, _You'll be able to understand your egg better if you take it for a swim. The prefects' baths should be empty after ten tonight._

On the other side of the scrap of parchment, it explained how to get in the prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor. Kim grinned and stuffed the letter in her pocket. "Thank you!"

Cho winked. "I'll pass it on to Cedric. He felt bad about November…" She trialed off when she realized Kim had no idea what she was talking about. "Anyway, he said you saved him for the First Task, so he had to make sure you know what to expect for the Second."

"Well? What does it say?!" Ron demanded after Cho said goodbye and hurried off.

Ever the snob, Kim stuck her nose in the air. "Sorry Ron. Can't talk now. Fleur and I have to get ready to take a bath together."

"What?!"

But Kim was already running off and giggling. Rolling her eyes, Hermione grabbed Ron by the sleeve and started dragging him into the library. They had two essays due next week, and she wasn't about to let him procrastinate when he was so close to all the books he needed. Poor Ron didn't stand a chance.

* * *

"You wouldn't believe the mess Barty made," Lis informed the Dark Lord as she went to check on him that evening and make sure Barty Senior wasn't fighting off the Imperious Curse. The old man was standing in the corner of the abandoned office building they were residing in with a blank look on his face.

"Surely you can fix it," Voldemort said so casually that Lis could barely detect the silent _Or else_ that was added to it. "You can always take over the hex to make sure it doesn't unravel now that he's dead."

Lis hummed in agreement as she walked over to a smudged window and gazed out of it. "I did. But I don't think it is as strong because I am not the original caster. Soon enough, even _she_ will be able to fight it. I can't believe she's not smart enough to get the bruises checked out."

"I doubt she wants more medical attention after what happened," the Dark Lord murmured thoughtfully. "Surely she is frustrated since she knows she didn't try to take her own life."

"Perhaps." Lis sounded doubtful, chalking up to Kim just being plain stupid. She turned away from the mirror. "Worse comes to worse, I'll know how to slip out undetected. My husband's making me go to the Third Task. I'll say I have to go to the bathroom and make sure the Cup is made into a Portkey."

"How is the Second Task coming along?" Voldemort knew that Lis was currently his only option, so he didn't really care what she did as long as she got the job done. He only had to wait a few more months.

Lis smirked. "The French one threw her egg into the Lake this morning. She babies the girl, so if they haven't figured it out, there's something seriously wrong with them, and I'll have to intervene."

"Excellent." Voldemort glanced at Barty Senior and wondered how long he would be with them. If his son's hex was soon to be discovered like Lis predicted, they would have to get rid of him soon. "Have you decided who you're going to kill?"

Lis shook her head. "It's between Diggory and Krum. They'd both get in the way during the Third Task. I suppose it depends on who's the easier target. And which one's lucky enough to be too weak to fight off hungry blast ended shrewts."

"Make sure you decide and still have enough time to plan it out." Seemingly bored, Voldemort gestured to the door, which was the only spot in the area that Lis could use to apparate to Hogsmeade. "You're dismissed."

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I thought this chapter was a little… meh. But I had to write it to get to the next chapter, which will be more exciting, I promise! :) Please review!**


	16. Searching

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you Slytherin's Strumpet and REDRydingHood for reviewing!**

 **A/N: Severus wasn't cooperating with my plans. :( As you will see below!**

 **A/N2: Oh and the bikini thing is a clue to who Lis is. Some of you might be able to figure it out!**

Chapter 16 Searching

"No." Severus couldn't believe Minerva thought it was necessary to ask. There was no way in hell he was going to allow himself to be unconscious with a bunch of merpeople. Calling them violent was an understatement.

Minerva gave him a look that would have worked when he was sixteen. It was a look that usually turned teenagers into deer in front of headlights. They were in her office, her territory, but Severus didn't let it intimidate him, despite the fact that he was sitting in the place a student normally would be quivering in. "Severus, you are very important to her."

"And because we are so _close_ , as everyone likes to insist, I know that she will get hopelessly lost, and I will be left to drown," Severus said a-matter-of-factly.

"You won't drown," Minerva muttered. He noted that she didn't say that Kimberly wouldn't get hopelessly lost.

Severus rolled his eyes. "How comforting. Minerva, you know I am not in the position for this. The Dark Lord will return, and I am going to have to tell him that she wants nothing to do with me since finding about… The past."

Minerva sighed. After years of working with Severus, it was tempting to tell him that spying wasn't worth his life. Unfortunately she knew that he thought he owed his life to Lily, and he wouldn't stop until Voldemort or himself was dead. "So you're saying that the Second Task is too public? Because we don't know when he is going to return."

"Soon," Severus answered as if he knew for sure. "If I don't start distancing myself, I will be expected to lure her to Him. Once He returns, I will stop speaking to her all together. The Dark Lord will believe that Black taught her to hate me."

"Oh Severus." She sounded so sad that Severus was tempted to roll his eyes again. It wasn't like he was doing anything particularly harmful. The brat had Lupin and Black to coddle her. "Well… I don't want Remus to get sick. I'm sure Sirius would be more than happy to do it."

"Dogs are always eager." Severus rose from his seat, suddenly in a foul mood. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to supervise the Weasley Twins' detention."

* * *

"But it's so pretty!" Kim whined as she and Fleur looked around Hogsmeade for a swimsuit for the Second Task. She was holding up a green and yellow bikini but could tell by Fleur's face that she didn't think it was a good idea.

Fleur held up an all-black bathing suit that reminded Kim of a SCUBA outfit. "You will freeze like ze ice cube. This will keep us warm."

Kim pouted but put the bathing suit back. The Dursleys never took her swimming, and she had to swim in her clothes at Privet Drive since she didn't have a swimsuit this summer. Somehow, she thought Sirius would be a little reluctant to let her wear the bikini if they went swimming as a family. "Fine. But we are witches you know. We could use magic to stay warm."

Fleur shook her head and handed Kim the black bathing suit. "We need to be focused on ze task! Cedric and Viktor are beating us!"

Kim shrugged. She didn't really care about winning. Surviving sounded good enough to her. "Fine."

As Kim headed for the dressing room, she bumped into a woman with short brown hair. The woman sneered at her as if she had done it on purpose. "Sorry…"

"Kim-m _ee!_ Zhey have zhem in blue!"

Kim sighed grumpily. If only the Second Task was in July.

* * *

No matter where Harry sat, watching the Second Task was awkward. For the beginning, he sat with Remus, which he supposed wouldn't have been too bad if Professor Snape wasn't sitting right in front of him with the Malfoys. At least Sirius wasn't here, but honestly, did Kim really have to wear a bright red bikini?

"Oh my…" Remus looked horrified while Harry didn't even bother looking. He kept his eyes on the crowd until Kim jumped in.

Professor Snape was beyond tense, and Harry strained his ears to hear him mutter, "Ridiculous."

"She can't freeze to death, can she?" Harry asked, not really knowing what else to say.

"I don't think so." Remus fidgeted in his seat. "But I don't want to be there when Sirius wakes up."

"Yes, Lupin. Ignore the problem like always, and it will go away." Professor Snape was trying not to say anything, but it was clear he couldn't help it. Harry saw Mrs. Malfoy pretend to sneeze to cover up a laugh.

"It's not exactly a problem, Severus," Remus said feebly.

"She's fourteen," Professor Snape hissed, "and barely wearing clothes while a thousand people are starting at her."

"She and Fleur went to Hogsmeade this weekend." Remus tried to shrug it off like it was nothing. "It was probably just an impulse buy. You know how she doesn't think things through."

"She thought it was sexually appealing," Professor Snape said in disgust. "Why else would she buy those loin cloths tied together with string?"

"I have to go to the bathroom," Harry announced loudly. Hearing Professor Snape say 'sexually appealing' had to be the most revolting thing he heard all day. Well, besides 'loin clothes tied together with string.' Disgusting.

Remus smiled, knowing he had no intention of returning. Harry had a feeling his godfather was going to spend the rest of the task trying to sooth Professor Snape. As he hurried down the wooden steps of the bleachers, he heard Professor Snape snap, "It's snowing! There's snow on the ground, Lupin, and she's dressed like a stripper!"

Needless to say, Harry did not regret his decision to flee.

* * *

He found Draco before Blaise and sat with him, Pansy, and who had to be Pansy's parents. Draco had his jaw clenched, but he figured it was because they hadn't spoken in so long. "Look. I'm sorry I overreacted. I was scared she was going to die, but I should have tried to talk to you about it sooner."

Draco jumped as if he hadn't noticed Harry sat next to him. "Huh? Oh sorry. Yeah. I was a prat."

Harry frowned. Draco would never admit to being at fault, especially with him apologizing. "Alright…"

Mrs. Parkinson leaned over to meet his eye. "Your sister looks nice. How does she stay so—?"

"Mum!" Pansy sounded like she wanted to throw a fit but forced herself not to out of respect for her parents. Draco squeezed her hand. "If you love me, you won't finish that sentence in front of Draco and my friend!"

Mrs. Parkinson stared like she didn't know what the problem was. "What? You're both the same age. The Potter girl just has a nice figure."

"She's a stick." From Draco's tone, Harry could tell that he was defending Pansy somehow. He didn't understand how though. He'd have to ask Draco later. For now, he was going to escape again.

Harry stood up from his seat. "She, um, she's just built like that. I-I don't know. Sorry. I, um, ha-have to go to the bathroom."

* * *

Of course he had to stutter. It was a nervous habit that he always had when talking to someone he didn't know too well. He hated it, but whenever he tried not to do it, he only did it more.

Harry started to head for Blaise but decided against it. His friend looked miserable, but he didn't know how to fix it without Kim physically being there. He'll have to arrange something as soon as the Task was over.

He settled for sitting with Daphne and her sister, only because Daphne hated Kim but didn't hate her enough to waste her time complaining about it. With a shy smile, he sat next to her and a red faced Astoria.

Daphne glanced in the direction he came from and snickered. "Ooh! What'd you say? Mrs. Parkinson's leaving!"

"N-nothing." Harry turned around to see her practically running away from her family. "She was being weird though."

"It's okay. No one likes her," Daphne said nonchalantly. Astoria swatted at her, silently telling her that she was being mean. Her sister ignored her. "Pansy thinks her father's finally going to divorce her. Fingers crossed."

"That's uh…" Harry shrugged. He didn't like Mrs. Parkinson but didn't want to agree that she deserved her husband leaving her because she made a bad first impression on him. "Sorry. I don't know her that well."

"She's a bitch," Daphne informed him like it was nothing. "Now, you have to help me get Astoria to get over her little crush on Draco."

"Daphne! Harry might tell! Stop it," Astoria pleaded.

"I won't," Harry promised. As awkward as was, he was going to have to settle for Daphne torturing her sister about Draco. It was better than his other options.

* * *

Kim didn't know what Fleur's problem was. She kept giving her odd looks as they swam through the water. It was like she was naked or something.

Shrugging to herself, Kim kept swimming, following the fish like Fleur said to. Hopefully it would work. Severus would be pretty pissed if she didn't save him.

It took them nearly half an hour to find everyone. Fleur was happy to see Gabrielle, but Kim didn't see Severus anywhere. She had to force herself not to be disappointed when she saw Sirius instead. Severus always saved her. Just this once, she wanted to save him.

But what was Hermione doing here? Kim reached out to try to free her but was swatted at by what she supposed was a merman. "You take the man!" he hissed. "The girl is for the other."

Kim narrowed her eyes. Fleur had already freed her sister and was trying to rush her to free Sirius because they were the first ones to complete the Task. Shaking her head, she waved at Fleur to leave without her, but her friend refused.

Fleur looked really annoyed when Cedric came along, meaning he would finish the Task before them but held her ground and stayed to make sure Kim didn't get in a fight with the merpeople.

The clock kept on ticking, but Krum was nowhere in sight. Kim kept scanning the Lake, hoping to see him. At this rate, their gillyweed was going to wear off, and she had no idea what would happen to Hermione once the hour was up.

Finally, Kim saw Krum. He was kind of far away, but she could tell he wasn't moving. Fearing the worst, she started swimming towards him until Fleur grabbed her arm.

She pointed at Sirius as if to say, _What about him? At least finish_ half _the Task._

"Fine," Kim grumbled but only bubbles came out. They still had about twenty minutes.

Once Sirius was free, she dragged him by his rope as if he were a giant balloon. She swam as fast as she could, so Krum would still have time to save Hermione.

But Krum wasn't conscious. At least, she didn't think he was. It was hard to tell with that shark head…

Tying Sirius's rope around her wrist, Kim grabbed Krum by the shoulders and shook him. There was nothing in sight, and he didn't _seem_ hurt. Maybe one of the merpeople conked him on the head or something.

When Fleur finally caught up to them, Kim could tell by her face that she was going to get an earful once they reached the surface. She pointed her wand at Krum and cast a spell that Kim would later learn was pronounced, _"Enervate!"_

Nothing happened. Fleur seemed concerned now and handed Kim Gabrielle. She put a hand on Krum's chest, probably seeing if she could feel a heartbeat. After a couple of seconds, she nodded to herself and took Gabrielle back.

Fleur turned to Kim. She pointed to Krum and then herself, silently saying, _I'll take him._ Then, she pointed to Hermione. There was an unspoken, _You rescue her._

 _You gave me the hard job._ Sighing and letting out a bunch of bubbles, Kim swam for Hermione. Fleur didn't follow, probably wanting to get Krum some medical attention.

The merpeople didn't care about Krum, and Kim didn't bother trying to explain. She tried to take Hermione, and they swatted her again. She was running out of time…

Fed up, Kim kicked the merman who kept swatting at her and was rewarded with a scrape on her leg from his spear.

Great. Kim took her wand out, raising her eyebrows when fear flickered in his eyes. No one was ever afraid when she took her wand out before…

 _"Stupefy!"_ Before the merman hit the ground, the others scattered, and Kim felt rather proud of herself. She'd have to tell Harry she won her first duel.

She freed Hermione and started speeding towards the end of the Lake. Krum had to be okay. She would have to bug Hermione and see if she cared about him as much as he cared about her.

The gillyweed ran out before she made it, and Kim felt her lungs burning before she reached the surface. Harry was the first one she saw. Coughing, she accepted his hand when he offered to help her up. Sirius and Hermione started gasping for air as soon as she heaved (pushed) them onto the beach.

"What's on your hand?" Harry asked as Remus rushed over to her to wrap a towel around her. (She didn't know it was because he didn't want Sirius to see what she was wearing.)

"Hm?" Kim coughed again, feeling like she wanted to barf up a bunch of lake water. She rubbed at her eyes but was too tired to really focus. "I dunno. My leg looks pretty nasty though."

But Harry wasn't listening. His eyes travelled down to her feet and his eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What's the matter, Harry?" Remus tried to ask calmly, even though he knew that Severus was hovering in the background, waiting for an opportunity to yell at Kim without being overhead.

"Doesn't anyone read anymore?" Harry was starting to sound like Hermione, and Kim would've laughed if he hadn't ripped her towel off and spun her around to see more bruises behind her knees.

"What the hell?!" she yelled, trying to yank her hand out of his grasp when he twisted her arm to look at her elbow.

"What the bloody hell are you wearing, Kimmy?" Sirius yelled.

"I don't know!" she yelled back. "Fleur picked it out! She said it would keep me warm!"

"Shut up!" Harry shouted before Sirius could have a fit. "Kim, you have a hex on you. Several… Or maybe just one. I don't recognize the pattern…"

"That," Severus said, never failing to make Remus jump. His voice was as angry as ever, and Remus supposed this had to be a big deal. He overheard him talking to Albus as an Order meeting about distancing himself from Kim. "Is a Puppet Hex."

* * *

Well this was just great. Kim knew Fred and George were throwing another party, and she was stuck in the Hospital Wing _._ Pouting, she strained her ears to try to hear was Severus was saying to Madam Pomfrey. Unfortunately, she could only get bits and pieces.

"Do you really need a curse breaker?"

"… Uncommon hex…. Two casters…"

"…impossible!"

"I don't know…"

Severus ripped open the curtain around her bed. Kim looked over to see Krum being lectured by Karkaroff. He looked alright. He was awake at least.

"Kimberly!" Severus growled to get her attention again. "Who hexed you…? Damn it…"

"Harry said she thinks she's wearing the body suit," Madame Pomfrey murmured.

"I am!" Kim wished she had gone with Sirius and Remus, who went to go find a healer and a curse breaker.

"Kimberly." Severus took a deep breath, trying to regain some of the patience they all knew he didn't have. "Do you remember talking to someone before getting changed? After Lupin did his usual coddling before the Task."

Kim pursed her lips. Harry was going to have a field day. "Alastor. He told me that merpeople can talk to fish. That's why Fleur decided we should follow them."

 _Leave this to the aurors._ That's what Albus had said. Severus, of course, had ignored him. He tracked Moody down and found him in his office within the hour. Without hesitation, he blew off with door with his wand. Moody jumped but otherwise didn't speak.

Severus kept his wand on the former auror. "Well? Is there a particular reason you've being toying with the girl all this time?"

Moody didn't say anything. Severus thought he would have a rebuttal and planned to make his accusations more serious as the argument went on. Like a statue, Moody seemed to start right through him.

"Moody!" Severus barked. "You're running out of time to confess. The dog will be here soon. He's too stupid to wait for answers before tearing you to shreds."

Again, nothing. Moody didn't even smirk and call him a Death Eater. Something wasn't right.

Moody gagged, and Severus thought that he had poisoned himself to get out of punishment. Instead, the old man started to change before his eyes.

"Whatever game you're playing at…" As Moody sunk to the ground, Severus rushed over to him to see another man instead.

Barty Crouch Senior was starting at him with blank eyes.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I've noticed a lot of you guys just started reading this. Thanks for the support! :) I guess I'm the only one who's been drowning in school work lately… Next up, Blaise finally gets the courage to make up with Kim, and we see what happened to Krum! Please review!**


	17. Revealing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you Kiki888, Slytherin's Strumpet, and LilyEvansDouble for reviewing!**

 **LilyEvansDouble: It's not Narcissa. I'm thinking I might be cruel and not reveal who it is until the very end of the last chapter of GoF. :)**

 **A/N: The first paragraph is a clue to Lis's personality. She lives in a mansion, but it isn't the biggest mansion she's ever seen, so she bitterly calls it a house.**

Chapter 17 Revealing

Walk. That's all she had to do. Walk to… the back of the house. No. It wasn't a house. It was a mansion. Who called it a house? It didn't matter. She just had to walk to it. She didn't want to… but she couldn't stop.

"KIM!" Roughly, Harry grabbed Kim by the shoulders and spun her around, breaking her from her trance. He was panting, like he had sprinted for longer than his body could take. "You're in Hogsmeade. I saw you on the Map before you crossed the border."

"Oh…" Kim tried to shake the fog out of her head. "I was supposed to walk. To a house that was far away."

"Right…" Harry grabbed her by her arm and started walking her to the castle. "I researched the hex. The bruises coordinate with strings on a puppet. Once all the bruises are there, the caster doesn't need to be in close contact with you to control you."

"Bill's taking them off." And Kim hated every minute of it. Every time he tried, she had to relive the memory in her head. She saw herself doing things like writing mean letters to Sirius and struggled to stop doing them but to no avail. "He said once I go through all of memories, the bruises will go away. Until then, there's nothing we can do."

"But Crouch is in a Ministry holding cell," Harry reminded her. "Without a wand."

"That's what I wanted to talk to Sirius about." Kim pursed her lips. Sirius acted like Crouch being a Death Eater made sense, so she was hesitant to talk about it. Severus would be on her side though, especially if it upset poor Padfoot. "We'll get Severus to take us to the cottage."

* * *

As Kim expected, Remus looked worried but calm while Severus tried to keep his face blank. She wasn't used to Sirius's panic and pacing yet.

"No." Sirius ran a hand through his hair and pulled it when he reached the end. "We have Crouch. It's probably a residual thing. It's Bill's fault. We should have found a curse breaker with more experience, Moony."

"I don't think it was him," Kim said weakly, flinching when Sirius tensed. "Because his memory—"

"Was _conveniently_ wiped!" Sirius threw his hands in the air, not understanding that he was starting to sound a little crazy. "Kimmy, you don't understand. He denied me a trial. His own son was a Death Eater. It all makes sense."

"Denied you a trial?" Harry asked before Kim could jump the gun and start arguing with him. He wanted to know why Sirius believed so eagerly that Crouch was a Death Eater. The old man could barely talk the first few hours after his arrest. The aurors weren't sure if he had hexed himself or if he was under the Imperious Curse.

Sirius nodded. "It was my only chance to prove my innocence. Or at least get the truth out. If Crouch was a Death Eater, and close enough to Voldemort to know it was Pettigrew, he would definitely cover it up. And now he's working for Voldemort again."

"But in my dream it was a woman!" Kim yelled. "It wasn't him, Sirius!"

"Padfoot." Remus's voice was so quiet that it was almost hard to hear him. "Crouch didn't give you a trial because he was eager to prove himself after his son was arrested. We have to look into the possibility that—"

"That he destroyed my life to try to salvage a reputation that was already beyond repair?" Sirius forced himself to laugh. "And you didn't see how he was with Kimmy at the World Cup. He was so eager to get her in trouble. It would be rather convenient for Voldemort if she was expelled and wandless."

"Black, are you really going to ignore the fact that someone, who could very well still be out there, poisoned the girl because of a grudge with the old man?" Severus asked, sounding bored. "How pathetic."

"Shut up Snivellus!" Sirius snapped. "And the Order has been looking for that woman from Kimmy's dream this whole time! So don't think like I'm acting no one's out there anymore!"

"The Order?" Kim asked, but Remus had finally decided they heard enough.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "They're going to fight like old ladies for a while," he said while Sirius and Severus did in fact start bickering. "Let's go to the kitchens at school, and you, Harry, and I can devise a list of questions for Mad-Eye. Madam Pomfrey says he'll wake up by the end of next week."

* * *

"Sirius still refuses to believe me," Kim complained after barging into Severus's office uninvited again. Severus often called her rude and uncivilized, but if she didn't do it, they would hardly see each other. "But I saw the 'fake' Alastor way more than him. And Harry agrees that there were probably two of them. So why can't there be a third?"

Severus was tempted to ignore her and continue grading his midterms. Unfortunately, he knew from experience that she would act like he wasn't and keep prattling on. "The dog dislikes Crouch. You know that, Kimberly. I'm sure Lupin told you the complete story."

" _I_ want to find the real fake Alastor." Kim wrinkled her nose at the oxymoron. "Both of them. Because one of the hated me a lot more than the other. Maybe not. Since the other one… Harry said he thinks the first one was sadistic while the second one was more bitter."

"Oh? Are you two a pair of detectives now?" Severus wondered sarcastically. "Now I know the wizarding world will be safe… The aurors and Black are eager to put Crouch away and let the issue be done with but trust me, Kimberly, when I say that Dumbledore does not buy the simple story either."

"You don't even like Dumbledore," Kim mumbled with an eye roll. Severus didn't say anything, and she watched him write a large D on Seamus's midterm. "Severus?" He grunted in acknowledge. "I thought I was going to save _you_ during the Second Task."

"I would rather risk the dog's life than my own." Severus cursed himself when he realized he admitted to being the first choice. Hopefully the brat wouldn't pick up on it.

"So I could have saved you?!" Kim squeaked, making Severus cringed. "Why didn't you let me? Hermione said Dumbledore would have gotten her if I hadn't. So it wasn't like you were going to die or anything."

"How about you focus on preparing for the Final Task, Kimberly?" Severus asked. His tone made it clear that he was going to refuse to answer her question.

Kim glowered. Later, Remus would tell her that he couldn't picture Severus willingly putting himself in a vulnerable position like having to be rescued for the Second Task. "Fleur said that if we win, we'll all go to an island together for the summer. She said she loves the feeling of the sun on her skin."

"Fascinating," Severus drawled.

They lapsed into silence after that. Kim couldn't bring herself to chatter nonstop like usual. She couldn't shake off the feeling that… that Severus was slipping away from her.

* * *

Kim knew she should head to the Astronomy Tour like Harry said, and she was. A conversation with Blaise was long overdue, but first, she had to see what Karkaroff arguing with Krum about. She spotted them on her way back from visiting Fleur and hid behind trees as they neared their giant boat.

… And they weren't speaking English. Great. She should have figured that.

"You forgot your scarf." With a yelp, Kim spun around to see Gabrielle smiling at having caught her spying. She smiled awkwardly in return and spotted Gabrielle holding her Gryffindor scarf.

Blushing, Kim took the scarf and stuffed it in her pocket. "Thanks. With the hex stuff, I never heard what happened to him."

"He was poisoned," Gabrielle said quietly. "Everyone says he must've be stung by a creature in the lake."

"So that's why Karkaroff's yelling at him?" Kim wondered. It seemed like a crummy thing to do, since Krum could have eventually drowned if no one found him.

Gabrielle nodded and looked over her shoulder to make sure Karkaroff hadn't spotted them. "He thinks Krum wasn't careful enough. And Krum says that nothing stung him, that he had been feeling sick since a few hours before the Task."

"Do you know Bulgarian?" Kim asked as she let this sink in. Did the original fake Alastor poison him too?

Gabrielle shook her head. "Krum told Fleur… She didn't like him at first, but I think she fancies him."

"Really?" Kim couldn't picture this, but she did notice that Krum was the only boy around Fleur's age that didn't drool all over her. Maybe Fleur simply didn't want to be worshiped. She probably just wanted to be treated like a regular person.

"But don't tell her I told you," Gabrielle whispered.

"I won't," Kim promised. This week was getting weirder and weirder.

* * *

It was tempting to hide with Gabrielle and Fleur for the rest of the day, but Kim should have had this conversation with Blaise over a month ago. Part of her just wanted Blaise to start talking to her like nothing ever happened. Hearing him apologize was going to be hard, since it would be the first time she would hear him say what he thought.

Harry arranged the meeting, and Kim was almost surprised not to find him in the Astronomy Tower to act as some sort of therapist like on the talk shows Aunt Petunia liked to watch. Instead, Blaise was by himself, staring out the window with a sad look on his face.

"I thought you weren't going to come," he said without turning around.

Kim bit her lip and stood awkwardly in the doorway. "If it was early February, when Harry finally told me what you said, I might not have."

Blaise flinched and after over two months, finally faced her. "What changed your mind?"

Kim shrugged to try to act like she wasn't self-conscious. He should be the one embarrassing himself! Not her! This was his fault! "I missed you. I kept doing things and thinking about what I would say when I got the chance to tell you. Or when Remus drags me to the cottage for the weekend, I want to bring you over for dinner to torture Padfoot. And I wanted to know how your mum was and how _you_ were after what happened. I felt like part of me was missing without you."

Blaise took a step towards to her and felt reassured enough to take a few steps closer when she didn't take a step back. "I-Everyone sees it… No-I… I know you and Draco used to be close. And it makes me so angry because I know you two act like you hate each other, but I also know it isn't true. So when I heard that rumor, I was quick to believe it. It confirmed one of my worst fears."

 _I can't have children, so you don't have to worry about it,_ Kim thought about saying. But she didn't want to go down that road, not yet and probably not for a while. "I don't hate Draco," she admitted. "But I think looking down on people is too important to him. I can't even be friends with him, so you have nothing to worry about."

"I didn't even visit you," Blaise muttered, ashamed of himself. "I thought you would be so disgusted with me… I was afraid of you breaking up with me, although me avoiding you had the same effect."

"No it didn't," Kim whispered so quietly that she barely heard herself. She laughed breathlessly when Blaise went from sullen to hopeful. "At least I hope it didn't?"

Blaise grinned and closed the gap between them. After kissing her, he said quietly in her ear, "Not at all."

* * *

"I see that the Annoying Trio is back together." Severus raised an eyebrow when he saw Harry sitting with Luna, Blaise, and Kim in the Great Hall one Saturday afternoon. Since they were in between meals, there were only a few loiters sitting at the House tables. "Make that Quartet."

Arrogantly (foolishly in Blaise's opinion), Kim leaned over and kissed Blaise's cheek to pissed Severus off. He narrowed his eyes but said nothing. "Severus? Did you know that Ron got Luna chocolates for Valentine's Day?"

"They were quite delicious," Luna said dreamily. "Although I do prefer—"

"Wonderful," Severus snapped before Luna could say an imaginary food and explain its nonexistent qualities. "Detention, Mr. Zabini."

"For what?" Blaise nearly yelled, but Severus was already off, robes flowing behind them in their usual, angry manner.

Kim snickered. "He's the best dad ever… Anyway, how are we going to get to Crouch? The aurors aren't going to let me talk to him without Padfoot."

"We could always wait until the real Moody wakes up," Harry tried, already knowing it was useless. For the last few days that Moody was trapped, he wasn't given food or water. Moody was near death, which Kim insisted was intentional since the 'real fake' Moody was done with him. Polyjuice Potion wouldn't work if Moody was dead.

"Who knows when that'll be," Kim grumbled impatiently. "And for all we know, Alastor doesn't know. So Crouch could be in Azkaban all that time for something he didn't do. You'd think Sirius would be more bothered by that."

"I think he thinks Crouch deserves it. Can you imagine how different things would be if Sirius had been given a trial?" Harry wasn't so sure if it would be a fair trial and doubted that Sirius would have won, but he remembered how broken up Sirius was on Halloween and figured someone had to be on his side.

Kim shrugged and wouldn't meet his eye. She probably naively thought that Sirius would be free without a doubt and was feeling guilty. "Well whoever it really was made everyone think I tried to kill myself and now… It doesn't matter. This isn't about Sirius. I _need_ to know what really happened."

"You're going to need to sneak in," Luna said knowingly. "And you can't do that unless no one sees you."

Harry almost groaned. Luna tended to only half say what she had in mind. He had a feeling that she liked watching plans unfold and seeing where everyone else would take them. Or maybe she just liked being mysterious. "And Sirius got Kim back her Invisibility Cloak after she sent that letter."

"I didn't send it!" Kim hung her head, too used to trying to defend herself. " _Anyway,_ I don't know how to get there by myself. Or even where to go. Stupid Lucius Malfoy took me to the Ministry last time."

Blaise glanced over his shoulder, making sure no one was listening. Out of fear of getting made fun of, he hardly ever talked about his mother at school. "I could get my mum to do it. She'll pretend that she wants to make sure everything is fine with… You know. What happened during Christmas hols. And you can follow her under the Cloak. She won't mind. She'll be happy that we're talking again."

"She won't?" Kim was too used to Remus trying to shelter her and Severus insisting that what was going on was none of her concern. She had a feeling that Sirius would have kittens if he knew she was sneaking to the Ministry to talk to Crouch.

Blaise shook his head. He sounded a little bitter when he said, "She thinks we're old enough to handle such situations."

Kim squeezed his hand, knowing that 'situations' he was referring to were his stepfathers. And probably now Rita Skeeter. Blaise said that while his mother never directly told him what she did, she never tried to hide it either. It wasn't long before he started putting the pieces together. She wondered if he was afraid of his mother.

"I'll go as soon as she's ready," she said quietly.

* * *

Severus had to admit. Kimberly had an uncanny ability to cause chaos whenever the previous chaos started to settle down. The oldest Weasley was supposed to finish removing the hex from her tonight. He should have expected something to happen.

"Alright. Where is she?" Black hollered rudely as he stomped into the Slytherin Common Room. He was trying to help Astoria Greengrass with an assignment when the dog burst in.

Severus glared at him as Astoria yelped and fled like he had a feeling she wanted to do for the past hour. "I don't care how you managed to get in. Leave, Black. Before I remove you."

"Not until you tell me where Kimmy is," Black snapped stubbornly. "I bet you were told about the hex by Crouch and—"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Severus shouted in a tone that could even bring fifth years to tears. "The brat isn't my concern." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Potter trying to flee the Common Room. "Mr. Potter." The boy froze. "Here. Now."

"Don't-don't talk to him like that!" Black stuttered, too worked up to realize that the boy clearly knew exactly where Kimberly was.

Severus sneered at him and then turned to Potter. "Do I look stupid?"

"Don't answer that, Harry! It's a trap!" Black couldn't resist saying. Severus had to thank Merlin that the mutt never managed to reproduce.

"Um…" Potter glanced at Severus. "She… She went out to dinner with Blaise and his mother."

"Very well. If something happens, it is you fault for not disclosing the exact location." Severus turned heel to leave. It was too easy to get Potter to do what he wanted.

* * *

Remus had a hard time keeping up with Sirius, who was heading to the Auror Department as if Kim was in a pub full of Death Eaters instead. If he had to be honest, this wasn't the worst thing she had ever done. In fact, it wasn't too different from the time she snuck off for Sirius's trial.

They found Mrs. Zabini by the front desk, flipping through a magazine and seeming to be enjoying herself. At the sight of them, she smiled. "Oh, hello. There's a bit of a wait. There seems to be a bit of a disturbance."

Sirius paled before realizing that the disturbance was Kim and not Death Eaters destroying the place. "Yeah? Well I have to ground the 'disturbance' until she's Dumbledore's age."

"Sirius… Surely they will escort her out. Or have us come get her." The look Mrs. Zabini was giving Sirius made Remus a little uneasy. He wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Mrs. Zabini smiled slowly. "Sirius? Would you like to go on a date tomorrow evening?"

"Wha…" Sirius opened and closed his mouth several times. He had to replay the words over in his head, and it took him another few seconds to realize this was a distraction. "Sorry, Celeste, but unlike your other suitors, I want to live to see forty."

Mrs. Zabini stared like she didn't know what he was talking about. "Blaise needs a father." The poor boy turned scarlet. "And you were a great father figure to him last year."

"He didn't give me a choice," Sirius said flatly. With a growl, he stomped past the front desk and waved the startled secretary off. "I know the bloody way."

* * *

Kim knew she had to hurry up. Actually, she was surprised she wasn't already caught. It took her a while to find Crouch, and she only found him because she was lucky enough to slip into an interrogation room while an auror was leaving to take a break. Once the door was firmly shut behind her, she tore her cloak off, scaring the crap out of Crouch.

"Hi." _Shy and awkward. Way to go,_ Kim thought to herself. Sighing, she walked over to him. "I want to talk to you."

"Oh?" Crouch laughed bitterly. "I don't know anything. And if I did—"

"Yes, you do." Kim sat across from him, where the auror would sit, and felt rather foolish, like she was out of place and too small. "I nearly died, I can't have children, and everyone thinks I'm made of glass. And I know it wasn't you who did it to me."

Crouch raised his eyebrows and leaned closer to her. "You're the first person to say so. At least out loud. I surely thought Dumbledore would defend me."

Kim squirmed in her seat, uncomfortable under his desperate stare. "Well, er, you're already in trouble. So if you're worried about it… At least you'll get out of this trouble."

Crouch leaned back in his seat, still staring at her. This time, he seemed to be weighing his options. He obviously still thought of her as lesser than him, so it must be hard for him to say anything. Hell, it was hard for her to sit there and wait for him, considering that he made it clear at the World Cup what he thought about her. But she had to know.

Finally, he spoke. "What do you know about my son?"

* * *

"How the hell is she getting him to talk?" Nymphadora Tonks squinted as she watched Kim from the one-way mirror. She was a student and currently observing interrogation techniques with Kingsley. "You've barely managed to get a peep out of him."

Kingsley rubbed at his chin as he listened in. "Crouch is used to being in charge. Perhaps he needed to speak to someone who doesn't have authority over him."

Before Tonks could reply, Sirius ripped open the door with Remus trailing behind him. "Oi! Why's Interrogation Room One magically locked?" When he spotted Kim through the window, his eyes popped out of his head. "Get her out of there!"

Tonks glanced at Kingsley and decided to try prove she could be a good auror. If she could distract Sirius, Kim might have time to get answers out of Crouch. "Sirius Black?" She held out her hand. "Do you remember me? My name's Tonks."

Sirius frowned, and Tonks blushed when Remus laughed softly behind him. Soon enough, the name registered. "Little Nymphy?"

Tonks twitched at the wretched nickname but knew she had to stall. When she was small, Sirius loved to tease her mercilessly. "I go be Tonks now."

"Do you?" Sirius laughed, successfully distracted. Remus had a small smile on his face and obviously knew what she was doing. Tonks tried not to look at him and focus on Sirius as he launched into a story. "I remember when your mum picked your name, Nymphy. Actually, it was between Nymphadora and Cassandra, the day you were born. But with your hair changing like that, I told her that Sandra was too common a name for such special baby. She agreed and named you Nymphadora."

"You did what?" Tonks hissed. Cassandra was a beautiful name!

Kingsley shushed them. "I think she's getting somewhere."

* * *

"I may have been a horrible father," Crouch confessed. "I never took the time to connect with my son. But I love my wife. I love her."

"Remus said she died," Kim muttered. "I'm sorry. But I don't see what that has to do with—"

"I love my wife," Crouch repeated. "But our son… I'm not risking everything for him. Not again."

"He's dead too." Maybe Crouch's brain was still addled from the memory wipe. If Hermione was here, Kim had a feeling she would have dragged her away by now. Or, since she was Hermione, she would have already figured out what Crouch was trying to say. "Remus said he was born bad, like Voldemort. That something wasn't right with him, and anything bad that happened to him made it worse."

"Perhaps." Crouch thinned his lips. He looked a wreck, like something was missing from him since the last time she saw him. What little life he had in him seemed to have drained out of his body completely. "But my wife didn't see it that way. She thought she could save him. And-and because she was already dying, I let her."

"What did you do?" Kim asked, confused.

A full five minutes went by before Crouch said anything. For a while, Kim thought that maybe he changed his mind and didn't want to talk to her anymore. He didn't speak up until she started to get up to leave.

"It was my son who poisoned you, not me." Crouch put his face in his hands. "My wife took Polyjuice and switched places with him. My son escaped from-from my care at the World Cup. He is the one who poisoned you."

"But…" Kim fidgeted. A million questions were threatening to burst out of her head. He wasn't giving enough detail. How could they just switch places? They would have gotten caught. "Alright fine. But how do you know it was him if he escaped from you? Sirius thinks you're a Death Eater. The only way you would know it was him, is if you were there. Voldemort had plenty of followers."

Crouch shot out of his seat and started pacing. He seemed to have finally lost it. "Because I know my son! I know what he did to the pets my wife tried to give him. What he did to the Longbottoms. He can't help it. And I'm surprised He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was able to keep him under control during the War."

"Neville's parents?" Kim was starting to feel sick. All this time, she was being controlled with someone who hurt Neville's parents. He never talked about them, and she could tell it was because he thought whatever happened to them was too painful to tell anyone about. "So-so he hurt you too?"

Crouch shook his head. "I don't think so. There was this woman. I can't remember anything else. Not even what she looked like. I think… I think she told me where to find him. Unless she was lying…"

"I don't think she was," Kim whispered.

"I love my wife," Crouch repeated yet again. "But she couldn't see Barty for what he was. I didn't want her to know. It killed her. The evil in him absolutely destroyed her."

* * *

Sirius burst in shortly after that. He 'grounded' her, although she wasn't sure what that meant since she lived at school, and he wasn't there to punish her. Severus said she had detention until all the snow melts.

But Kim couldn't really react, no matter how much Sirius ranted and raved. She expected her meeting with Crouch to be tough but not like this. By tough, she meant that she thought she was going to have to yell at him or guilt him by telling him what it was like in the hospital over Christmas. She didn't expect the conversation to be so disturbing.

Also, she didn't fully understand why Crouch told the aurors every single detail after that. Crouch kept his secrets for so long. Why was he so willing to tell her and then everyone else? She didn't find out until a few days later, when Hermione woke her up late one morning.

"I'm up!" Kim shot out of bed, too used to the egg from the First Task. Once she let her heart slow down, she realized it wasn't screeching and looked around, expecting to see Hermione holding it threateningly.

Instead, Hermione was sitting at the foot or her bed, looking worried. Something bad must've happened. "I-I want to tell you before anyone else does. Because Remus and Sirius might not get to you in time."

"What?" Kim wasn't sure if she wanted to know. At least Hermione wouldn't hesitate or try to downplay whatever it was. She believed in honesty too much for that.

Her best friend sighed. "Kim, last night, in his cell… Crouch ripped the sleeves off his shirt and tied them together. They gave him some books as a reward for talking. He used them to reach… He tied them to the bars on the small window on his door. Then-then he hung himself."

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm sorry I've only been able to update every other week lately. I'm going to try to catch back up on Thanksgiving since I'll have a small break from school and work.**

 **Crouch's death was a spur of the moment thing, so he isn't one of the character deaths I mentioned before. While writing this, I just thought that it was something he would do, since his reputation was all he had left and telling the truth got rid of what little there was of it.**

 **So, unless the next chapter is too long and I have to split it, there will be two more deaths next chapter.**

 **Five chapters left! I am determined to finish this by Christmas! Please review!**


	18. Dying

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **A/N: This wasn't as long as I expected… Probably because I didn't want to rewrite a lot of what was in the real GoF I suppose…**

 **Thank you girlwholived- Haley Potter, lizy2000, LilyEvansDouble, and Guest for reviewing!**

Chapter 18 Dying

After she heard about what happened with Crouch, Kim became a little obsessed with him. She knew what suicide was. Hell, she had been accused of it. Maybe that was why she was having a hard time understanding why someone would actually do it. She didn't understand how he could just give up like that.

"Kim-m _ee_ ," Fleur whined. She was trying to help Kim get ready for the fast approaching Third Task, but the younger girl couldn't focus. "Zhe man, Crouch, he waz… tired. He made zhe choice. He wanted to go… You have to focus on living because you don't know what will 'appen."

Kim kicked some of the disgusting, slushy snow, which only resulted in her boot getting covered in mud. "He shouldn't have done it."

"No, Kim-m _ee_. It waz hiz choice." Fleur put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't you think you should focus on zhe living? 'Arry wants to help you with zhe Task. Let us get ready. No more of zhe moping."

"No one's even going to his funeral." Kim ignored Fleur's cry of exasperation. "'Cept Percy. I wouldn't want only one at my funeral to be _Percy_."

Fleur threw her hands in the air. "If we go to zhe funeral, will you feel better? Because you driving me like zhe nuts!"

"Driving me nuts," Kim corrected. She frowned, wondering if going to the funeral will help. There was nothing else she could think of, so she supposed she had to give it a shot. "And we're bringing flowers."

* * *

"I'm going to kill her!" Sirius ranted when Remus told him that Kim went to Crouch's funeral. "Whenever she wants to go do something, she just goes! She doesn't even ask! She's fourteen!"

"Well I don't think Crouch can hurt her now," Remus said dryly as he made tea. Actually, Dumbledore took her and Fleur to the funeral, so he supposed Kim did ask. Just not someone Sirius approved of. "And she means well, Padfoot."

Sirius glared at him. "So when Voldemort returns, she could just leave to fight him? You know, because she 'means well.' Really Remus? We can't let her keep doing this."

 _But it was perfectly alright when she was running off to help you,_ Remus thought, not for the first time either. "It was only the burial, Padfoot. She just put flowers on his grave. And then they left. Maybe she would have talked to you about it if you were willing to listen."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius narrowed his eyes. "I always listen to Kimmy. Sure, things have been bumpy since I've been freed, but I've always been there—"

"You weren't listening to anyone when it came to Crouch." Remus poured him a cup of tea, secretly hoping it would calm his old friend down. "And I understand, although it was a little frustrating. But like you said, Kim's only fourteen. She probably has a hard time fully seeing your point of view. Yes, usually she's reckless, but this time… Just let it go, Sirius."

Clearly he wasn't planning to any time soon because Sirius picked up his wand and summoned his coat. "I'm going to go see Kingsley. I want to know if it's Mrs. Crouch who's actually buried at Azkaban."

Remus sighed tiredly but didn't stop him. One day, Sirius would be able to move on.

* * *

Before Kim knew it, it was time for the Third Task. She was scared and excited at the same time. Scared because it had to be harder than the first two tasks, and excited because it was finally over.

Fleur was excited too, but mostly because she thought they could win. According to her, if they won the Third Task, they could win the Tournament. Krum won the First Task but received zero points for the Second. Cedric was barely beating them. No matter who won, it would be close.

And so, Kim thought everything was going to be fine… Until she woke up the day of the Third Task.

She had this horrible sense of dread that made her want to hide under the covers for the rest of the day. Hermione wasn't having it though, and with the aid of the screaming egg, Kim was out of bed in time for a late breakfast.

Fleur seemed a little uneasy too. She was quiet as they were getting ready, but before they were about to step out to start the Task, she said, "I'm going to zhe beach when zhis is over. No matter what. We are going to zhe beach."

* * *

Harry sat with Draco and Pansy again. Mostly because he had a feeling that Sirius would bite his own nails if he let him. Things were tense with Pansy's family, but not as tense as they were with Remus and Sirius.

Somehow, he wound up sitting next to Mrs. Parkinson while Pansy sat as far away from her as possible. Draco sat between Harry and Pansy, and Pansy's father sat on the other side of her mother.

The tense silence was almost unbearable, and Harry would've gone to find Blaise if he hadn't felt like he was part of a shield keeping Pansy away from her mother. He asked Draco what happened a few months ago, and his friend said it was private, so Harry respected that and tried to focus on the Task. It couldn't last more than a few hours.

"Excuse me." Mrs. Parkinson got up to leave after about two hours, and Harry was willing to admit to himself that he felt relieved. Pansy didn't even look in her mother's direction.

"Where are you going?" Mr. Parkinson demanded. He had to be at least twenty years older than his wife, and Harry got the feeling that she ignored him more often than not.

Mrs. Parkinson sneered at him. "I'm not feeling well. I told you I didn't want to go to the bloody Tournament."

She left before waiting for him to answer. Harry cringed when Mr. Parkinson mumbled, "Maybe you would feel fine if you weren't always guzzling those damn potions."

After a few minutes, Mr. Parkinson left too, but it was clear he wasn't planning on following his wife. Draco and Pansy kept their eyes straight ahead on the Quidditch field.

"I think she's having an affair," Pansy said flatly, as if she were saying there was a slight chill in the air. "My dad's frustrated, but he doesn't care about her enough to look into it."

"I'm sorry." Harry didn't know what else to say. Pansy may not like her mother, but it had to be tough either way.

Pansy shrugged, looking very tired. "In less than three years, I can move out."

* * *

Although he knew it was foolish, Severus wanted to find a way to call the Final Task off. It was impossible, especially since it was already halfway over. That didn't stop him from requesting a word with Albus, however.

"Karkaroff is nowhere to be seen," Albus commented, knowing Severus was going to tell him why. They were inside that oaf Hagrid's hut, which was the closest they could be to the Third Task without being overheard.

"I'm not surprised." Severus glanced out the window and waved his wand about to make sure the temporary wards and Silencing Charms Albus set up were still working. "The Mark is searing my skin. Something's going to happen tonight."

Albus didn't say anything for a while. Severus imagined he was formulating half a dozen plans. However he was also sure that they were plans after the "something" they were talking about happened. "Funny. I wish this was happening much later, but I also want it over with as soon as possible."

"She's too young." Severus didn't know what else to say. She was too young to fight the Dark Lord. Too young to only have Lupin and Black to rely on.

Albus smiled sadly. "But not too young to make it, Severus. She is not the little brat that you met nearly five years ago."

Severus snorted. "Yes," he drawled. "She's a slightly bigger brat. But not by much."

"She can do this, Severus," Albus insisted.

Like an overinflated storm cloud, Severus felt dark, cold anger expand in his chest. "You mean you _hope_ she can."

Severus stormed out of the hut and slammed the door behind him so hard that he heard something fall to the ground and shatter.

* * *

Something wasn't right. So far, the Third Task wasn't much more difficult than the Remus's obstacle course at the end of third year. A few creatures popped up that they had to fight, but they were moving on within minutes. Kim didn't want to say anything though. Fleur was excited about possibly winning, and she didn't want to ruin it.

The hardest part was figuring out which way to go. Eventually, they started charming leaves of the maze hedges different colors so they would know if they past them. Kim was beginning to wonder if this was a joke. There wasn't even the loud hum of the crowd she knew was watching them. It was almost eerily quiet.

And then they saw Krum.

He was faced down on the ground, like he was walking like nothing was wrong and suddenly collapsed. Fleur ran over to him before Kim could fully comprehend what had happened.

"Wake up! Wake up, you idiot!" The way she pronounced it almost sounded like _ee-diot_. Kim felt a lump form in her throat as Fleur started shaking him. Krum didn't respond.

Kim gripped her wand tightly. "If we send the sparks up, someone will save him."

Fleur gave him another hard shake, and Kim couldn't stop thinking about Gabrielle saying her older sister fancied Krum. "He iz not going to wake up," she said with finality. "He izn't."

"But…" Kim pointed her wand in the air and sent bright red sparks up anyway. There wasn't a mark on Krum, but deep down, she knew Fleur was right. She simply didn't want to accept it.

Once she saw the red sparks, Fleur tensed and then stood up, trying to act like she didn't see Krum or that he was merely unconscious. She grabbed Kim's hand and started running straight ahead. She didn't look back either, no matter how many times Kim look over her shoulder, half expecting Krum to pop up and start running to try to catch up. Needless to say, he didn't.

* * *

As they watched the Task, Severus and Albus spoke in half sentences. Severus found himself filling them in in his head and half wondered if Albus did the same, or if he automatically knew.

"The boy…" … _has been poisoned._

Albus hummed noncommittally. "The healers are trying to save him." _…but it's already too late._

If he wasn't so used to death like the headmaster, Severus's blood would have turned to sluggish and cold. "The girl…" … _interestingly enough has not been harmed._

Albus nodded, keeping his eyes on the maze. "Yes. It looks like Fleur may win." _Along with Kimberly._ Severus felt a horrible sense of foreboding.

They watched helplessly as Diggory was attacked by a swarm of blast-ended shrewts. With a slight nod from Albus, the healers and mediwitches that weren't trying to save Krum ran off to save him. Severus felt sick.

"She was meant to win." Severus kept his voice devoid of emotion. The Dark Mark felt like it was burning through his arm.

"I suppose anyone who bet on Fleur will be happy." Albus was grim. He was lucky enough to be able to show that he was worried. "I suppose the celebration will have to wait until she grabs the Cup."

He was being told to wait until Kimberly survived whatever it was that was going to happen. Wait to answer the Dark Lord's summons. Severus stayed put, although with each second that passed, he was more sure that Kimberly wouldn't survive.

He half expected the Cup to explode when she and Delacour grabbed it together. Instead, they disappeared.

* * *

When they finally reached the Cup, Kim couldn't help but look back to where she heard Cedric scream. She shouldn't have listened to Fleur. She should have gone to find him to send the red sparks up like they did with Krum.

"Kim-m _ee,_ once we get zhe Cup, it will take us to the front, and all zhe hedges will dissolve." She grabbed Kim's hand and started dragging her towards to the Cup. "Dumbly-door will not let anyone die."

"But…" Kim bit her lip, wondering if Fleur was trying to convince her or herself. The Triwizard Cup was right there, so it will take less time to grab it like Fleur said, compared to how long it would take to search for Cedric. "Fine."

Fleur smiled, although it seemed a little strained. "We grab it at zhe same time. Together."

Kim forced herself to smile back. "Together."

It took Kim a minute to realize they weren't still in the Quidditch Stadium. The first thing she noticed was the silence, which seemed a hundred times worse than before. Next, she tentatively opened her eyes, not to see bright lights she expected. There was nothing but darkness until her eyes could focus and see that they were surrounded by tombstones.

"Where are we?" Fleur whispered. For the first time since Kim met her, she sounded truly afraid.

"I-I dunno," Kim mumbled just as Fleur started shushing her. "What?"

 _"Kill the spare,"_ a cold, familiar voice hissed.

She turned to see a woman heading their way. It looked like she was holding a baby, and Kim almost trusted her because of it. She nearly cried out for help. When she realized it was the woman from her dream in the summer, it was already too late.

 _"Avada Kedavra!"_

Kim's scar exploded with pain as a bright green light temporarily blinded her. There was a thump, but before she could see again to figure out what it was, someone hit her on the back of the head with a rock.

She didn't realize Fleur was dead until she regained consciousness.

 **A/N: How many of you hate me right now? :( Four chapters left!**


	19. Dueling

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you LilyEvansDouble, Guest, Child of Music and Dreams (all the times), and Guest for reviewing!**

 **LilyEvansDouble: At first I was confused because your phone or computer autocorrected Fleur to Foyer! :) The Death Eaters didn't think Kim could win, so they killed Krum and hurt Cedric to get them out of the way. They're Death Eaters, so they don't care how cruel and perhaps unnecessary it is. :( But this story would be totally different if it didn't happen! I'm sure Kim would agree with you though… She's not going to be a happy camper for a while. :(**

Chapter 19 Dueling

Kim woke up to a searing pain in her arm. Her head hurt so badly that she didn't want to open her eyes. Something terrible was happening. She just knew it.

Once she did find the courage, her eyes immediately started bouncing around in search of Fleur. When she finally spotted her… No one could be that still. That wasn't Fleur. It couldn't be.

Suddenly, there was an explosion in front of her. White smoke and sparks blinded her, relieving her from the sight of her friend's body.

"Robe me," a cold voice said impatiently as the smoke cleared. Kim felt her blood run cold as she watched Lis, who's arm was covered in blood, dress him. She knew that voice.

It was Voldemort.

* * *

"Where'd she go?" Sirius asked in disbelief. They had watched Kim take the Cup with Fleur, and it seemed that the entire stadium breathed a sigh of relief.

And then she disappeared.

"I-I don't know…" Remus glanced a few rows over. Albus was sitting painfully still in his seat while Severus was nowhere to be seen. The packed stadium grew quieter and quieter as he slowly rose from his seat. The champions were supposed to be transported to the front of the maze. It shouldn't have taken more than a few seconds.

With each step they took towards the headmaster, Remus felt a greater sense of dread. Every second that passed made it clear that Kim wasn't coming back anytime soon.

"I don't know," Albus answered for all the unspoken questions. Sirius made a strangled noise, but the old man did his best to not react. "If you'll excuse me, Severus seems to have suddenly become violently ill."

His words were as calm as they were any other day, but they pushed Sirius over the edge. "Snape? Kimmy's missing, and you're going to coddle Snape in his sickbed? He made his own damn decisions! Kimmy didn't choose to be in the Tournament, and you sat back and did nothing! Find her, you—"

"I'm afraid I can't." Albus's quiet voice somehow managed to slice through Sirius's yelling. "Something is interfering with her Trace. Cornelius already tried it. He seems to think she snuck off with Fleur to celebrate."

"What?" Sirius snapped, outraged that the minister would say something so ridiculous.

"So we're just going to wait?" Remus cut in before Sirius could have a meltdown. "There has to be more we can do, Albus."

"Perhaps we should tend to Severus." Albus got up and started to leave. Sirius opened his mouth to start flipping out, so Remus smacked him on the back of the head to get him to shut up and follow. Sirius took the hint and glanced over his shoulder to see Harry heading towards them. Reluctantly, he waved Harry off to make him sit back down. He'd explain later.

* * *

Remus wondered if Hagrid knew that his hut was being used as a temporary Order headquarters. He supposed the half giant wouldn't mind because of his devotion to Albus. Or perhaps he would, since Severus was currently dry heaving in his sink.

"He's back," Severus managed to gasp out. When he saw that Albus was not alone, he swore. "The Dark Lord is trying to summon me. As you can see, it does not pay to ignore him."

"And why aren't you going?" Sirius shouted. By how his eyes and the veins in his neck were bulging, Remus was surprised he hadn't given himself a heart attack. "If the Dark Lord, as you so devoutly call him, has returned, then answer his bloody summons! He has Kimmy! So go get her—"

"Severus cannot," Albus said firmly. "He is a spy and cannot compromise that."

The silence was deafening. Remus felt his mind go blank. They couldn't just leave her there. But that would mean sacrificing Severus, and Remus had a feeling Voldemort couldn't be killed with the Killing Curse. Not permanently, obviously. So even if Severus went, it could all be for nothing.

"Lily would hate you for this." Sirius looked Severus dead in the eye as the other man froze. "I don't know what you think you owe her, but she would never forgive you for leaving her child like that when you could apparate to exactly where she is."

Severus gripped the sink and turned away from him. "Kimberly is probably already dead."

* * *

Two years ago, Kim thought Lucius had actually felt bad about giving her that diary. It felt like a hundred instead of two, and she couldn't believe that she was so stupid.

Lucius was on his knees, begging Voldemort for forgiveness. When his master gave his speech, talked about Kim's 'foolish mother,' the cowardly bastard clung onto his every word. He went out of his way to not look at her, but he didn't even notice Fleur's body. Kim hated him almost as much as Voldemort.

Kim could barely listen to Voldemort. She was so angry that her ears were ringing. He killed Fleur like it was nothing. He could have stunned her. He could have killed Kim instead. Fleur's blood had to be more powerful than hers.

The instant Lis untied her, she charged at Voldemort, not waiting for her wand back and not caring that she was surrounded it. She screamed and ran towards him as fast as she could, hoping to knock him down and claw his eyes out, kill him with her bare hands. He had Fleur killed. He called her mother stupid like it was nothing. He had to pay.

But, of course, Voldemort flung her across the graveyard with a flick of his wand. The Death Eaters laughed as her head smashed into a headstone.

"It seems that Dumbledore didn't bother teaching you manners, Kimberly," Voldemort joked, so happy that Kim could almost call him giddy. He pointed his wand at her. " _Imperio._ Take the wand from Lis. She was kind enough to offer it to you so politely."

Kim shook as Lis shoved the wand at her. She snatched it out of her hands and yelled, " _Crucio!_ "

Voldemort smiled widely as he stepped to the side, and a Death Eater behind him screamed in pain. She hoped it was Lucius. "So you aren't like those Muggle loving idiots. What a shame. You would have made an excellent servant. However, I do value polite, compliant servants, Kimberly. We bow before we duel. _Imperio!_ "

Kim felt her spine snap forward almost painfully. She sobbed and tried to force herself up, feeling weak and disgusted with herself.

"No wonder Lis needed to get rid of the competition," Voldemort taunted. "You're weak. Pathetic. If it wasn't for your filthy mudblood mother, I would sooner allow a Muggle's blood to run through my veins."

"I'm going to kill you," Kim snarled, although she was already starting to doubt herself. She wasn't even quick enough to save Fleur.

Voldemort chuckled, and his Death Eaters followed suit. "Stun me first. That will make it easier, considering how you couldn't hit a slow moving target."

Kim tried not to listen. She'd disarm him. Disarm him and kill him with his own wand. Harry would do something cool like that. No… Harry would already be back at Hogwarts… with Fleur. " _Expelliarmus!_ "

" _Avada Kedavra!_ "

* * *

"He's going to make it."

Mrs. Diggory sounded so certain that Cho hated herself for doubting. The healers had stabilized Cedric, but they were still too afraid to move him to St. Mungo's. The fact that they were so close to Krum's body only made matters worse. His weeping mother and stone cold father made her want to scream and cry hysterically.

"I know," Cho forced herself to say. The lump in her throat made the lie that much harder to choke out. She wasn't sure if she could go on if Cedric didn't make it.

Mrs. Diggory smoothed the thin sheet that covered her son. Mr. Diggory sniffled once and a while, but Cho had a feeling that he was too afraid to so much as speak. His wife, on the other hand, was too afraid to not tell herself what was going to happen. "He's missing an eye… a leg… and part of his nose but… But that's nothing he can't handle. Cedric's a strong boy. A clever boy. He'll be fine."

"It wasn't an accident." Cho hated herself for sounding so hateful. "Someone did this to him."

Mrs. Diggory wasn't having it. "No, sweetheart. No one would want to hurt Cedric. He's too good and—"

"And whoever did it had no good in them at all." Cho shook her head as she tried to hold in angry tears. "I'm going to find whoever did this. And I'll treat them a thousand times worse."

* * *

Kim almost dropped her wand when she saw Fleur appear out of Voldemort's. The other people she could ignore as they appeared but certainly not Fleur. What was she doing?! She had to get back to her body before it was too late!

Before a fantasy of Fleur coming back to life could fully form, Kim saw her dad. He looked so much like Harry, but she could tell it wasn't him. "Hold on." There was a worried protectiveness in his voice that only Sirius could match. "Don't let go. Your mother wants to see you."

Kim felt sick as a face so eerily like her own appeared. She almost stepped away when the woman, her mother, started walking towards her. In the background, Fleur and the other ghosts were taunting Voldemort.

Lily reached out as if to touch her, but hesitated and let her hand fall back to her side. "The connection will break soon… I want you to run, Kimmy. Don't look back. Just run."

"Tell Fleur to hurry up!" Kim's eyes filled with tears. She knew she sounded stupid, but the words still tumbled out of her mouth. "Tell her to jump back into her body so we can run together!"

Lily smiled sadly. "I'll try to be as good a friend to her as you were."

"NO!" Kim screamed. She almost ripped her wand away, but Fleur seemed to have sensed it and floated over to her.

"Bring my body back." Fleur wouldn't look at her. Kim thought she must be mad at her. "I don't want Gabrielle to hope."

Kim couldn't take it anymore. She ripped her wand away from Voldemort and started running towards Fleur. Maybe severing the connection could send her back to her body.

She ran as fast as she could and pointed her wand over her shoulder before shouting, " _REDUCTO!_ "

A statue exploded, and as soon she reached the Cup and Fleur, Kim hoped that it somehow managed to crush Voldemort, Lucius, and Lis at the same time. _It probably only made them flinch at most,_ she thought bitterly as she headed back to Hogwarts with the Portkey.

* * *

When they arrived at the stadium, Kim shook Fleur violently. She was sobbing and screaming at her friend to wake up as a huge, suffocating crowd started forming around her. She wasn't able to let go until Sirius literally ripped her off the dead body. Fleur wasn't coming back.

 **A/N: See if you recognize Cedric's injuries! They're a clue to what he and Cho are going to be up to in the future!**

 **A/N2: Thanks reading! This is my last week of school thank goodness! So I will be able to update more for a month! I'm going to try to combine the next two chapters just because I feel like I've been writing fourth year forever! :/ So I'll see you next week! Please review!**


	20. Severing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you girlwholived- Haley Potter and Guest for reviewing!**

 **And yes, Cedric and Cho will eventually become Death Eater fighting bad asses! :O**

 **A/N: Oh and Voldemort has a black eye from when Kim blew up a statue last chapter. A flying chunk of statue hit him in the eye.**

Chapter 20 Severing

 _"Isn't it fun getting ready for the ball, Kim-m_ ee _?" Fleur asked as she brushed the snarls out of Kim's hair. "Why don't you take care of zhe hair? It is so beautiful."_

 _Kim froze. She were sitting in Fleur's room, and although everything looked normal, she couldn't shake the feeling off that something was very, very wrong. Wait. Fleur was… Kim sprung out of her seat, startling her friend. Her eyes filled with tears when she knocked over the chair and hugged her. "I thought you were gone."_

 _Fleur laughed softly and hugged her back. "Gone? I'm here with you!"_

Kim's eyes snapped open, and she sat up with a start. She was in bed, in her room at Remus's cottage. Harry was sitting in a chair near her bed, drawling Hedwig, who was perched on her bedpost. He hastily threw the quill and sketchpad down.

"Hey…" He nervously ran his hand through his hair. "You passed out after Sirius picked you up."

Kim didn't say anything. She didn't want to know what happened.

"Over my dead body, Dumbledore!" Sirius yelled from the sitting room. "Why don't you ask Snivellus what happened when he comes back from kissing his master's robes? Voldemort's back! What else do you need to know?"

"Sirius, something may have happened that could help us fight him," Remus said weakly, like he didn't want to disagree. Kim had to strain her ears to hear him.

"Well it's going to have to wait!" Sirius snapped. "Kimmy needs to rest! You saw what happened! I had to rip her off—"

Kim jumped out of bed and ran into the living room before he could finish his sentence. "She cut my arm! And she cut her hand off! I… I was hit in the head. I don't know exactly what happened."

Dumbledore smiled like he approved, but Kim didn't care. She just didn't want to hear Sirius say Fleur, or worse, Fleur's body.

"And where were you taken after you grabbed the Cup?" Dumbledore asked gently. His blue eyes were flat, devoid of emotion.

"A graveyard…" Kim looked away and was tempted to back away into her room to try to sleep for about a hundred years. "And then…"

When it was clear that she didn't want to say that Fleur was killed, Sirius stepped in. "And then Voldemort came back. I'm sure Snape will give you the full story, Albus."

Dumbledore frowned like he didn't understand Sirius. Kim wanted to ask him something before her godfather succeeded in kicking him out. Dumbledore knew everything. "How come-how come…" Her eyes filled with tears. "How come Fleur didn't go back into her body when she shot out of Voldemort's wand?"

Sirius gripped her shoulder tightly. For once, Dumbledore looked confused. "When?" the old man asked. "I need to know the context, Kim."

"I…" Kim felt her chest become tight with the effort not to cry. "Where's Severus?"

"Severus isn't feeling well," Remus said quietly. Kim wondered if he thought that if he spoke quietly enough, she wouldn't know that he was lying. "You know how worried he gets."

"Were you dueling?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yeah…" Kim wanted to ask again where Severus was but knew no one would tell her. Hopefully they would be able to understand her through the crying. She didn't want to have to repeat herself. "I-he… I thought… My parents didn't have their bodies to go to! But Fleur's body… It was still warm! Why didn't she jump into it?! She could have—"

"That wasn't Fleur. Or Lily and James." Dumbledore glanced at Sirius, perhaps for help, but he was gripping Kim's shoulders so tightly that it hurt. She shouldn't have mentioned her parents. "It was merely echoes of them, I'm afraid."

So it wasn't their ghosts… Kim wasn't sure if that was better or worse. She wasn't crying loudly anymore, but she couldn't stop the tears from falling. "I'm tired. I have to go to bed."

* * *

 _"Crucio!"_

Severus wasn't sure how long this had been going on. It felt like hours. In reality, he knew only a few minutes went by. Probably not even five. He did his best to keep his mind clear, focus on nothing. Finally, the Dark Lord was ready to let him beg for his life.

"I did not think you would dare to return, Severus," the Dark Lord said, circling him. Something must have hit him in the head because he had a black eye to go with the rest of his repulsive features. "I thought you would be too busy coddling the girl."

Severus paused, not sure if the Dark Lord wanted him to reply. He kept his head bowed and said, "She despises me. Black made sure of it."

"Really?" The Dark Lord was still circling him, like a snake preparing to strike. "Because that isn't what I've heard. You and Lucius seem to have become quite close to her."

"That-that is not true my lord," Lucius babbled pathetically. "I—"

"You were trying to salvage your reputation and then panicked when your son became infatuated with the halfblood," Voldemort hissed. "Don't you dare interrupt me! _Crucio!_ "

Lucius had enough sense not to interrupt his master again by crying out in pain. Severus heard a few terrified, painful gasps escape the man, but he didn't dare raise his head to look.

Voldemort continued his game as if nothing happened. "Is it because she looks so much like the mudblood, Severus? Because she isn't as strong as dear Lily. Is she a surrogate? You couldn't save Lily so you have to care for the weak, pathetic, substitute?"

Several of the Death Eaters laughed while Severus felt his blood boil. _If she is so weak and pathetic, how did she manage to escape you?_ he thought bitterly. _Again._ Instead of voicing his thoughts, he gulped and nearly whispered, "Your servant made sure she found out about my service to you, my Lord. After he poisoned her, I tried to regain her trust because I could tell you were getting stronger. But because of Crouch Junior, it was too easy for Black to turn her against me."

The Dark Lord paused. Out of the corner of his eye, Severus could see that Lucius had finally dared to stand again. The Dark Lord didn't bother to look at him. "Oh? So for four years you were waiting to bring her to me? I heard you threaten Quirrell, Severus."

"Because I didn't know of your location, my lord." Severus felt his heart threating to burst from his ribcage, but his voice remained calm and level. "I didn't think he would tell me, so I thought if I threatened him, he would leave the castle to inform you. Then, I could follow him and rejoin you."

"You have an explanation for everything, Severus." This seemed to amuse the Dark Lord. He chuckled, but the Death Eaters seemed to be afraid to follow suit because they weren't sure if they were about to watch Severus die or not. One wrong move, and they themselves could be next. "Let me guess. You didn't try to find me because you've been collecting information and making sure Dumbledore trusted you all this time."

Severus didn't bother to say anything. The Dark Lord most likely knew every reply that he could think of. He just made sure to stay down, so it looked like he was cowering in submission.

"The girl is mine." The Dark Lord stopped directly in front of him. "I do not trust you to bring Lily's daughter to me. Perhaps young Draco will if she's too afraid to leave Black and Lupin. She's not as brave as I think James and Lily would have hoped."

"She will return to you, my lord," Severus forced himself to say. "She has a temper, and she's stupid. She probably already thinks she can defeat you and is planning on running off. It is a miracle that she can tie her own shoes."

The Dark Lord laughed, causing chills to run up Severus's spin. "Oh, how I've missed you, Severus. However, you have to learn your lesson. You cannot simply run off without my permission. _Crucio!_ "

* * *

Kim wouldn't get out of bed. Albus wanted to start Order meetings as soon as school was closed for the summer, and Remus didn't want to leave her alone for long. They couldn't depend on Harry to look over her and take care of her. He was only a child as well.

"I think we should move into Grimmauld," Remus told Sirius bluntly that night. "Then we'll always be close by."

Sirius, who had picked up a bottle of firewhiskey when Albus asked to use his childhood home, slowly removed the bottle from his mouth. He was slouching on the sofa, trying to drink himself into a stupor. "What?"

"Think about it." Remus sat down next to him and tried to be gentle and direct at the same time. "The Weasleys and Hermione could join us—"

"I'm not doing that to Harry." Sirius took another swig from the bottle. "Ron has never been nice to him."

 _You mean you aren't doing that to yourself,_ Remus thought dryly. But Sirius did have a point. "Maybe just Hermione then…"

"No." Sirius got up, a little unsteadily, and started heading for his room in the basement. "Kimmy needs time, Moony. It's been less than two days. I'm not exposing her and Harry to that house. Forget it."

Remus flinched as Sirius slammed the door. Maybe Sirius was right. He just didn't want to find out what would happen if he was wrong.

* * *

As Sirius expected, or as he should have expected, Kimmy didn't take being offered the reward money for winning the Tournament well. When he came in with the bag and explained what it was, she started screaming and crying and throwing things at him. Needless to say, Sirius needed to get out of the house before he started freaking out himself.

And so, he went to Hogwarts, which was only slightly less gloomy than it was at home. He planned on finding Hagrid and getting wasted with his old friend while Remus tried to talk to Kimmy, but perhaps luckily, he found the Weasley twins before he had to spend a thousand galleons on liquor.

"Just the man we've been looking for!" Fred—or was it George?— smiled.

"Did Kimmy get our box of chocolate toads?" George asked.

"Because we made sure to take out the one that gives her warts on her tongue," Fred said.

"So they're just like chocolate frogs but with nuts," George added.

Sirius opened his mouth to say that she left the box on her dresser and has been ignoring them ever since, but he didn't want to go into what was going on at home. "She doesn't like you two."

The twins just laughed like that was a trivial fact. "Surely she had forgiven us by now."

"No. Somehow I don't think she has." Sirius frowned and then held out the prize money. "But I want to see her smile again. And Molly has been complaining that you two want to open a joke shop…"

The twins' eyes widened. At the same time, they stammered, "But-but…"

"But she doesn't want it, and I don't want it in her account if it's going to make her feel bad." Sirius tried to push the bag at them. "Just give her whatever she wants when you open the shop. Maybe she'll feel better by then. She likes cats, unfortunately."

The twins looked at each other, silently communicating. After about a minute, they turned back to Sirius with hands held out to shake on it. "Deal."

* * *

"Kim?" Remus knocked on her door before coming in. He gave her a little over an hour to calm down after the incident with Sirius and entered her room to find her staring at the wall and holding the stuffed doe that Harry had given her. She glanced at him with watery eyes but said nothing. "I'm sorry about what Sirius did… But you should apologize to him when gets back."

"No." Kim shook her head and curled into herself. "How could he think that I would want that?"

"I think he just didn't know what to do." Remus sat at the foot of her bed. "Yes, he should have thought it through, but what was he going to do with the money? It's yours, and you shouldn't have thrown a lamp at him because he tried to give it to you."

"Where's Severus?" Kim asked for what Remus thought must have been the hundredth time today.

"He's, ah, busy." Remus wanted to kick himself as soon as the words tumbled out of his mouth. He didn't want Kim to know he was a spy because he was afraid she would start following him to try to get to Voldemort.

"Busy?" Kim repeated incredulously. Her already red eyes welled up with tears again. "Doing what?"

"I need to talk to you." After earlier, Remus didn't want Sirius to be the one to tell her this. She glared at him, thinking he was going to make up an excuse for Severus. "During the Tournament… Krum was poisoned… He died. And Cedric was hurt very badly."

Kim stared at him as if he were speaking another language. "So… So when Voldemort said that Lis needed to get rid of the competition…"

"I'm sorry," Remus said quietly as Kim started breathing heavily.

"GET OUT!"  
"But—"

"I SAID GET OUT!"

* * *

Sirius tried his luck with Harry when he got home. He spent most of the afternoon helping Fred and George with their business plans. It was a nice distraction, but he came home without a clue of what to do. Kimmy's door was firmly shut, and Remus somehow looked annoyed and sad at the same time. It'd be best to stay clear of them.

Harry was reading, but because his brow was furrowed in a way that reminded Sirius strongly of James, he figured the boy was having trouble concentrating. Sirius smiled sadly. "How's it feel to be the happiest person in the house?"

"Wonderful," Harry drawled without looking up from his book.

Sirius walked in and shut the door behind him. "So… I was wondering… You can go home, with your mum, for a while if you want. It wouldn't hurt my feelings."

Harry blinked and shut his book. "I wasn't planning to. Unless, um, you want me too."

"No, no, no!" Sirius shook his head quickly. "I'd never want that. Even when you're thirty."

Harry frowned. "Thanks, I guess."

Sirius laughed awkwardly. "It's… Things aren't going to be too fun for a while, kiddo. And I don't want you to be miserable with the rest of us."

"I'm not just going to run off when things get tough." Harry seemed offended at the thought. Sirius supposed this was why he had yet to return to school. He took his finals and then came straight home.

"You mean like me?" he teased.

"Well you _did_ have a lamp thrown at you." Harry grinned. "As soon as she throws one at me, I'm off."

"And I'm coming with you," Sirius grumbled. "Until then, I suppose the farthest we can go is the pizza place to pick up dinner."

"The Indian place is farther," Harry offered as he tossed his book to the side.

"That it is, Harry." Sirius glanced to his left, in the direction of Kim's room. "I'll give you five galleons if you try to feed the dragon."

Harry shook his head. "I don't have any protective gear."

* * *

Severus apparated to Lupin's at three in the morning, when he thought the wolf would be asleep. Unfortunately, he wasn't. At least the dog was nowhere to be seen.

Lupin rose from his seat in a way of greeting. "I'm surprised you came." When Severus said nothing, he continued. "I had to put something in her drink to make her sleep. She won't eat. She hardly gets out of bed… And she keeps asking about you, Severus."

"Tell her the truth, Lupin. I don't want her trying to speak to me once she returns for her fifth year." Severus glanced at her door, wondering how long she would be asleep or if Lupin had enough sense to give her a Dreamless Sleep Potion.

Lupin rubbed at his eyes. "She wants to go back tomorrow. To say goodbye to Gabrielle."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "And let me guess. You and Black are stupid enough to let her."

"I want her to be able to move past this, Severus," Lupin mumbled, but he wouldn't look at him. "I don't know what else to do. I'm afraid if we say no that she'll never get out of bed."

Severus rolled his eyes. It had only been a few days. They should let the girl go to Fleur Delacour's funeral, but right now, it was too soon for them to expect anything out of her. "Whatever, Lupin." He held out a bag. "Just give her this and tell her not to talk to me anymore."

"What is it?" Lupin asked, but Severus shoved the bag at him without a word and apparated back to Hogsmeade.

* * *

Kim woke up the next morning with a dull ache in her chest. She should apologize to Remus and Sirius, but she wanted to get the day over with first and see if Gabrielle blamed her for Fleur's death. Probably. Remus said that Gabrielle's parents left for France with Fleur this morning and didn't want her to see, so Madame Maxime was going to take her home.

Remus knocked on her door as she was finishing getting dressed. She knew it was him because he did it quietly and lightly, unlike Sirius who knocked quickly and nervously the other day.

"Come in."

Remus shut the door so quietly behind him that Kim barely heard it. "Severus brought this for you."

Kim stared at the bag, wanting to ask why he didn't bring it himself. "What is it?"

"I don't know." Remus set the bag on her bed. "Do you remember… Before Christmas, when you heard Severus used to be a Death Eater."

Kim glared at him. "How could I forget?"

"Well…" Remus suddenly looked afraid, making Kim feel terrible. "He-he's not anymore! But now… He's pretending to be. He's spying for Dumbledore… For you."

"So?" Kim's expression soured even further. So Severus was going to be spending time with Voldemort. That was why he hasn't been around. He was spending time with Voldemort and not her. She never thought she'd be jealous of the monster.

"So…" Remus took a deep breath. "So he told Voldemort that you hate him, so that he wouldn't be expected to deliver you to him. You can't talk to him at school anymore, Kim. The only time you'll be able to see him is in Potions, where other people will be, so you'll have to ignore him in class."

"But I'll see him detention," Kim added, never thinking she'd actually _want_ detention with Severus.

"No." Remus was trying to be firm. "If you bother him, you'll serve any detention he gives you with Minerva, Kim. It's what Severus wants. And he wants it that way to insure your safety."

"So he wants nothing to do with me?" Kim asked loudly. The dull ache in her chest suddenly ripped open.

"No—that's not…" Remus opened and closed his mouth several times, not sure what to say exactly. "Yes. I'm afraid so."

Kim gaped. She wanted to scream and cry and throw another fit like she did yesterday, but she didn't have the energy. Severus couldn't do that to her. He just couldn't. She sat on her bed, defeated. "Remus? I need to be alone for a while. I'll tell you when I'm ready to see Gabrielle."

"I—Alright." Remus kissed the top of her head and left as quietly as he came.

Since they were already irritated, Kim's eyes burned as fresh tears fell out. She snatched the bag up, wanting to destroy whatever Severus put in it.

She roughly pulled out a tiny stuffed cat and stopped when she realized what it was. It was black with eyes that Severus must've charmed to look like her own. Kim curled herself around it and cried until she couldn't anymore.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Phew! That was sad! One chapter left! I'm afraid it might be just as angsty, so I'll make the one-shot to announce the sequel nice and fluffy! :) As fluffy as Severus holding a baby can be anyway! :) Please review!**

 **Oh and should everyone move to Grimmauld for fifth year? I'm not entirely sure, so I'd like to hear your thoughts!**


	21. Grieving

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you girlwholived- Haley Potter and Slytherin's Strumpet for reviewing!**

 **girlwholived- Haley Potter- I agree, and I'll make sure to bring it up again when I start 5** **th** **year!**

Chapter 21 Grieving

Kim only left the house because she didn't want Gabrielle to leave before she could talk to her. Blaise spotted her as she headed to Dumbledore's office and started rushing over to her, causing her to freeze.

It wasn't so much Blaise but who he was with. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. Their fathers were laughing at her that night. Laughing at her while Fleur lay dead not far away. They had to know. Blaise had to know.

Kim turned her back to him and ran off.

* * *

"He's back," Narcissa said hoarsely. The past few days have been tense. She and Lucius had hardly spoken. The unspoken event felt more like a death than a rebirth.

Lucius put down his silverware and pushed his uneaten food away. "You couldn't expect me to ignore his calls. Not even Severus did."

Narcissa felt herself pale but didn't argue. "I know. Life has been so… _good_ without him."

"And it will be better." Lucius took a sip of his wine. "Don't talk like that again, Cissa."

"I won't." Narcissa looked down at her plate and took a bite of her chicken. It tasted like dirt in her mouth. She always encouraged Draco to befriend whoever he wanted because she thought this day would never come. She had hoped that the Dark Lord was actually dead and that her son was free to lead his own life. Now, she only felt stupid. "What about the boy? Draco is his best friend."

"The boy is intelligent enough. He will know to keep his distance. At least in public." Lucius sighed. "I'm hoping that Draco will understand."

Narcissa felt a sudden overwhelming sadness but did her best to beat it down. She never wanted Draco to 'have to understand,' especially if he was already attached to someone. At least he and Kimberly currently disliked each other. It was a superficial dislike, but hopefully it will make it easier for Draco when the Dark Lord kills her because Narcissa knew she wouldn't be able to comfort him and tell him it was right.

* * *

Kim felt her throat close up at the sight of Gabrielle and did her best to choke out, "I'm sorry."

Gabrielle cocked her head to the side as if she didn't understand. Her eyes were red and even though her appearance was otherwise the same, Kim felt like she looked a lot older. "Did it hurt? When she…"

"I don't think so." Kim suddenly felt like she was going to be sick. No… She couldn't do that. She owed Gabrielle an explanation, an opportunity to tell her that Fleur's death was her fault. "I don't think she realized it happened. She didn't scream. She just stopped speaking and-and fell."

"Maman said it didn't hurt." Gabrielle fiddled with a string on her sleeve and looked at her feet. "Maman said she fell asleep but won't wake up."

"I think that's what it was like too." Kim bit her lip until she tasted blood. The wait for Gabrielle to start blaming her was too much. "It's my fault. He was after _me._ "

Gabrielle frowned but then shook her head. "Papa said that he will find the woman who… He said it was her fault. The slaves to the madman."

"No." Kim took a deep breath to try to stop herself from crying. "If it wasn't for me, he would have found someone else to use to come back."

Gabrielle's frown only deepened, like she was confused. She must not have known what to say because she started quoting her father again. "Papa said that if no one wanted to be a slave to the madman that Fleur would still be here."

"Yeah. I guess he's right." They didn't say anything else until Gabrielle had to leave. Kim gave her a tearful goodbye but couldn't bring herself to walk her to the rest of her classmates like she wanted to. Gabrielle was supposed to blame her. She was waiting for this. Someone had to believe this was her fault. Someone had to hate her for this.

Kim didn't know what to do. Remus insisted that Fleur's death wasn't her fault when he tried to coax her to eat the other day. Sirius slipped in her room as Padfoot last night to try to help her fall asleep.

She was angry, mostly at Voldemort and the Death Eaters but also with herself. She didn't deserve to win the Tournament. She should have let Fleur take the Cup herself. Then, Voldemort would have left Fleur alone to try to get her.

Severus would understand. She had to find him.

* * *

But the first thing that Kim saw was Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Ron had his wand pointed at Harry while Hermione was yelling at him to stop. Kim felt all the anger she had been holding in bubble up. Harry was the only one that left her alone. The only one that understood that a simple _It's not your fault_ meant nothing because Fleur was dead.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Kim shrieked from behind Ron, causing him to jump. Harry had his hand on his own wand, but it was clear that he was hesitant to use it.

Ron spun around. "He was talking to Parkinson! After what happened, he's still a Slytherin and—"

"He wasn't trying to break into to Gryffindor Tower, Ron," Hermione said weakly. "He was looking for Kim."

"Two people died!" he hissed. " _Your_ boyfriend."

"Harry didn't kill them!" Kim screamed. "I did! It's my fault! You're just using this as an excuse to fight him! You've hated him from day one!"

"So did you!" Ron spat. "Don't act like you instantly wanted to be best friends with the little snake! It's not your fault! It's because of people like _him_ that this is happening!"

"If it's not my fault than how is it his fault?" Kim yelled. "I was there! He wasn't! He used my blood, not Harry's! You just want to pick on him because you can!"

Ron blinked. "What?"

"Because-because…" Kim didn't know what to say. She just never wanted to talk to Ron again. But that only made her feel worse because it wasn't Ron she was really angry at. He was simply an easy target. "Because your brothers and Draco and Snape pick on you, so you want to be the bully for once!"

"You're out of your mind!"

"Screw you!"

* * *

Kim didn't say anything when Remus knocked on her door that night, but he came in anyway. She was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, and frowned when her eyes slid to the plate in his hand. Hopefully if she forced herself to eat it he'd leave.

"Harry told me about your fight with Ron." No such luck then… Remus put the plate on her nightstand. "You shouldn't have shoved him."

Kim sat up and scowled when he handed her the plate of steak and potatoes. She pushed Ron to the ground before running back to Dumbledore's office to floo home. "It's Ron's fault."

"Yes, I believe so," Remus admitted while she pushed the food around with her fork. "But I also believe that you used it as an excuse to push him away because it's easier to be angry at him than think about Fleur."

"That's not true." She put the plate on her bed and folded her arms over her chest. "So you wanted me to just ignore him and let him hex Harry?"

"No." Remus ignored her rising voice. "But I don't want you to lose your friendship with Ron for the wrong reasons. I think you should talk to him about it and hopefully resolve things."

"I hate him," Kim said stubbornly.

With a tired sigh, Remus ran a hand through her hair. "No, you don't. You hate yourself. As much as I want to deny it…" He paused and cleared his throat. "You've convinced yourself that it's your fault that Fleur died. It's not, but… I know you believe it."

Kim shook her head and tried to force herself to start eating despite the lump in her throat. Remus didn't leave until she cleared her plate, but he looked like he didn't know what to do anymore.

* * *

"Alright, Kimmy!" Sirius ripped the blanket off her the following morning, ignoring her whining and trying to cover her head with the pillow. "I know. It's an ungodly hour. But Moony took Harry to some boring library in London, so _we_ are making gingerbread houses."

"It's June," Kim moaned, voice muffled by her pillow.

Sirius didn't deny or acknowledge it. "Prongs loved making them. In third year, we made one that looked like Dumbledore's office. He was quite impressed… but still gave us detention." He snatched the pillow out of her hands. "C'mon. I'm not taking no for an answer."

* * *

Because Sirius threatened to pour cold water on her, Kim shuffled to the bathroom and locked herself in for a while before washing her face and brushing her teeth. When she finally joined him, he had all the candy and gingerbread laid out on the kitchen table.

Sirius pointed to her usual seat. "You make the cottage. I'll make Hagrid's hut."

"I'm not sure if I'm in the mood, Padfoot," Kim mumbled as she sat down.

Sirius didn't say anything until he built the walls and then used magic to round them like Hagrid's. He waited to see if Kim was going to call him out for cheating like she normally would. "Sometimes… Sometimes I blame myself for what happened to Lily and James, Kimmy. Actually… I blame myself all the time."

"It's Wormtail's fault." Reluctantly, Kim grabbed the other icing container and started painting it around the edges of her gingerbread.

"And I insisted he be Secret Keeper." Sirius grabbed some square shaped pretzels for Hagrid's windows. "James could be making this with your right now. And Lily would be with Harry and Remus at the library."

"But where would you be?" Kim frowned when Sirius said nothing. "Wormtail would've lured us out of hiding… And you wouldn't be here to help us."

"You don't know that, Kimmy." Sirius frowned, trying to decide between using a cookie or a piece of chocolate for Hagrid's door. He picked the cookie and handed her the chocolate for Remus's door. "Lily wanted to give you her mother's earrings for your thirteenth birthday. She wanted to give Harry her father's watch. James… He just wanted to be there, for everything. I was hardly even there to make up for it."

"Fleur wanted to go to the beach." Kim stared at Sirius when he paused while preparing the icing for Hagrid's roof. "There's nothing I want to do. But she should be able to go to the beach."

"Kimmy? Do you want me here?" Sirius smiled sadly when she nodded. "Well, I want you here. Don't forget that. Promise?" Again, she nodded. "Good. Because I love you, kiddo. Even when you kept calling me Chicken Finger."

For the first time in days, Kim smiled, even though she was crying. She got up, hugged Sirius, and whispered, "I love you too, Padfoot."

* * *

Pansy almost felt like she lost something when she had to leave Hogwarts for the summer. The dark cloud that was her mother only loomed over her during special occasions, but now, it was going to be all the time. She missed the castle, although she would never admit it and would complain about it sooner.

She wanted to ask Draco if she could have supper at his house, but she knew she was stalling. The train ride home seemed to last forever, but she couldn't bring herself to enjoy it because every hour that passed increased her sense of dread.

Mother wasn't at the train station, only Father with his usual top hat for a portkey. Pansy wondered if her mother would notice that she gained back some of the weight she had lost. She tried to dress in dark colors but knew it was no use. Her mother would instantly notice and make passive aggressive comments about it throughout the night. The sooner she got the night over with, the sooner she could ask to sleep over Daphne's tomorrow.

Pansy sat down at the table and waited patiently with her father. Half an hour ticked by before she decided to grace them with her presence. At the sight of her, Pansy's eyes widened.

"Mum! What happened to your hand?!" she gasped out as her mother sat down like it was nothing, like her hand wasn't gone and replaced by a magical, silver prosthetic.

Mother shrugged. "You know how terrible I am at potions. A cauldron blew up on my hand when I tried to brew one myself. I had an awful headache in the middle of the night."

Pansy gaped. There was no way Mother would brew something herself. Even if the apothecary was closed, she would make a house elf brew it for her. "But-but…"

"Perhaps you should be more concerned with how much butter you've put on that potato," Mother snapped, making Pansy flinch.

"Would you shut up with that Amaryllis?" Father complained. "I am sick of constantly hearing about diets and beauty potions and what's best for the skin. Can't we have one evening with our daughter without you making something out of nothing?"

Mother sneered at her. "Doesn't look like nothing to me." She threw down her napkin and made to leave. "I'm going to see if Narcissa wants to go out for a drink."

Pansy shrunk back in her seat as Father started eating as if Mother had never been there. Mrs. Malfoy hated Mother because if she was drunk enough, she would shamelessly flirt with Mr. Malfoy at parties. Her mother was obviously lying, but Pansy had no idea what she could be doing.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Finally finished fourth year! I don't know about you guys, but I like fifth year a lot better. Kim will start feeling better after Fleur's funeral, but it will take a while for her to be completely at peace with what happened.**

 **Amaryllis used Lis as a nickname, so that's her! I mentioned her name once in first year when Lucius was telling Narcissa that Pansy was upset that Draco got Kim flowers.**

 **I'll post a one-shot next week when fifth year is started! Please review!**


	22. Sequel Up! Birthday

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **The sequel, _Kimberly Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ , was just posted!**

 **Thank you leahmontierth for the reviews! I knew that Dark Mark thing in the back of my mind… I'll go and fix it, so thanks for pointing it out!**

 **Thank you all for reading, reviewing, and following and favoriting! We're on to 5** **th** **year! It'll be a little angsty for a while, but Dumbledore's Army will help Kim through her grief. Other craziness in book five will include an engagement, Severus seeing things he definitely didn't want to see, and of course, Kim vs. Umbridge!**

 **Here's a one-shot of Kim having her first baby. It takes place in 2004.**

 **Birthday**

"Isn't she the most beautiful girl in the world?" Kimberly asked dreamily. A little too dreamily, in Severus's opinion, making him wonder how many pain potions she took now that the child was finally born. After hours of screaming and crying, Black and Remus being arrested and held up in France, and bandages for her husband, she finally had the baby she wanted for nearly two years.

Severus eyed the sleeping child in her arms. Its black hair was already sticking up at all ends. "I suppose."

"Miss Halley, Miss Halley," she sang happily, despite the fact that her eyes were starting to droop. Severus narrowed his eyes. She was definitely as high as a kite. "Miss Halley needs a middle name, but Mummy can only think of rainbows, and Daddy certainly won't agree to Halley Rainbow."

Oh for Merlin's sake! A good half of the people crammed in the sitting room waiting to see the child were healers. They should know the proper dosage to give her! Shaking his head, Severus held out his arms, "Give me the baby, Kimberly. Before you drop her."

She smiled as if she could see right through him. Severus thought she was starting to get delirious. "I know your tricks, Severus. You don't want to admit how wonderful Halley is and how much you want to snuggle her, because she has hair like my dad's!"

"Yes. That's definitely it." Severus rolled his eyes as she giggled and finally relinquished the child. He was going to have to have a long with her husband. She may have cut the skin in his hands with her nails, but that didn't mean he had to put her in such a stupor.

As expected, as soon as she handed over the baby, Kimberly was out like a light. The child whined slightly because of the transfer but otherwise didn't stir.

She looked just like her mother, Severus thought as he remembered the baby pictures, except for that cursed hair. However, he could already tell that she was much better behaved. When she opened her eyes to see who was now holding her, she wasn't in the least bothered and started doing her best to inspect the room.

Severus almost smiled. "So you're the one who turned Kimberly into a beach ball that waddled about the shop, scaring customers. She insists you're worth it. I suppose we'll see."

The child went back to looking at him, suddenly realizing that his voice was much different than her mother's. She clearly wasn't sure what she thought about that and started to whimper. Severus shushed her quietly, and she stopped but still seemed unsure of the situation.

"Well you already have better listening skills than her," Severus said dryly. "And I will be honest. Your mother was scaring customers long before your conception. Only in a different way. Chipper and annoying took a lot for the people of Knockturn Alley to get used to."

Finally, the baby decided that he was in fact not going to eat her and started to fall back asleep. Since no one was watching to bear witness, Severus smiled and ran a hand through the baby's hair. "You father…. And your godfather probably will think I won't like you because of that atrocious rat's nest you were cursed with… But that is only because they're dunderheads, just like your grandfather. Well, grandfathers. They're a group of nitwits that you'll be conditioned into idolizing."

Speaking of the devil, Black ripped open the door, finally back from France. His shoulders slumped. "I can't believe we missed it."

 _You mean missed a six hour long headache,_ Severus thought. Instead he drawled, "Back from prison already, Black? I thought it would take another twelve years to figure out how to prove your innocence."

Sirius scowled and eyed the baby. How was he supposed to know they would take an illegal portkey so seriously? Hopefully Remus would forgive him. "You better not ignore her like you do Harry."

Severus scoffed. He only ignored Potter for a year and a half, two years tops! "She is obviously much more intelligent and well mannered."

Black stared and said flatly, "She's a baby." He threw his hands in the air when Severus looked at him as if to say, _So?_ "Whatever. Hand her over, Snape. Before Molly breaks down the door."

Severus had to literally bite his tongue to keep from asking if anyone outside the room was sick. Instead, he handed Halley over like it didn't matter to him. "Fine. I have to talk to the _father_ about allowing his wife to overdose."

Black let out a bark like laugh like the dog that he was, flinching when the baby started to cry. He was tempted to start yelling at the mutt, but Kimberly's husband already beat him to it, swooping in and snatching the baby out of his arms as if Black had screamed in her ear. Severus smirked and stopped at the door for a quick glance at Kimberly. She was still out cold and must be exhausted, if she didn't wake from the baby crying. He would have to tell her about how irresponsible Black was later. What idiot would trust him with a baby?

Once he was gone, Kim's eyes popped open. Excitedly, she gestured from where she knew the house elf was. "Did you get the picture of him smiling at her? Did you?"

With a pop, Dobby was visible again. He nodded eagerly and waved the Polaroid in the air. "Dobby took the picture just as Mr. Severus started running his hands through the baby's hair! See! Dobby never thought he'd see him smile!"

Kim grabbed the picture and squealed with delight. Remus was right! Severus would believe that she wouldn't wake up if she pretended to be doped up on potions! "This is going to be on the invitations to her first birthday party! Oh Dobby! Thank you! It's going to be great!"

Dobby beamed at the praise. It was like they had captured a double miracle on camera! Not only had Severus instantly loved the baby, he had instantly loved a baby that bared a resemblance to James Potter.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! What do you think Severus would be like as a grandfather? Tell me in a review! ;)**


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